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A.  C.  Gaebelein 


The  Book  of  Genesis 


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OCT    10  106: 


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eS  1235 


Bible  Study  Course  No.  3 


Cfee  Book  of  genesis. 

A    Complete     Analysis    of 
Genesis  with  Annotations. 


By 
A.   C.   GAEBELEIN 


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Genesis  in  tlie  Light  of 
the  New  Testament 


By  FRED.  W.  GRANT 


nPHE  study  of  this  excellent  volume  will 
be  a  great  help  to  every  student  of 
this  Bible  Course.  The  great  New  Testa- 
ment doctrines  are  traced  in  Genesis  and 
the    dispensations    are     clearly     sketched. 


WE    KNOW    OF    NOTHING    BETTER 


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CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction 1 

Revelation  or  Myth  ? 7 

The  Division 12 

The  Analysis  and  Annotations 14 

Genesis  and  Geology 88 

Dictionary  of  Proper  Names 91 

Chronological  Arrangement 101 


Copyright  1912,  by  cA.    C.    Gazbelein, 


Printing  by 

Francis  Elmory  Fitch,  Inc. 

47Bro«d:St..,N.Y. 


The  Book  of  Genesis,. 


Introduction. 

The  first  Book  of  the  Bible  is  called  in  the  Septuagint 
(the  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament)  "Gene- 
sis." Genesis  means  "Origin."  The  Hebrews  call  it 
by  the  first  Hebrew  word  "Bereshith." — In  the  Begin- 
ning. It  is  the  Book  of  all  beginnings.  We  can  trace 
here  the  beginnings  of  creation  and  everything  else, 
except  God,  who  has  no  beginning.  The  Book  of  Gene- 
sis is  the  great  foundation  upon  which  the  entire^ 
revelation  of  God  rests.  The  marvellous  structure  of 
the  Bible,  composed  of  the  different  books,  written  by 
different  instruments  of  the  Spirit  of  God  at  different 
times,  is  built  upon  this  great,  majestic  Book.  It  is 
the  root  out  of  which  the  tree  of  God's  revelation  has 
grown.  Internal  evidences  prove  the  most  complete 
unity,  that  it  is  the  work  of  one  chosen  instrument, 
Moses,  and  that  it  is  not  of  a  composite  authorship. 
But  more  than  that,  the  Book  of  Genesis  establishes  the 
Divine  Unity  of  the  Bible.  The  last  Book  of  the  Bible, 
the  Revelation,  confirms  this.  Genesis  tells  of  the 
origin  of  all  things;  Revelation  reveals  the  destiny  of 
all  things. 

It  is  an  interesting  study,  profitable  and  suggestive, 
to  trace  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Bible  in  this  first 
Book.  They  are  all  found  somewhere  in  Genesis,  either 
in  typical  foreshadowings  or  in  direct  words.  Here, 
too,  we  may  discover  the  dispensational  and  prophetic 
truths  of  the  Bible  in  germ.  Genesis  iii:15  is  the  pre- 
diction out  of  which  the  rest  of  prophecy  has  been 
developed.  The  entire  New  Testament  in  its  doctrinal 
st-atements  rests  upon  this  Book.    It  is  quoted  there 


2  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

as  the  Word  of  God  scores  of  times.  If  the  revelations 
of  Genesis,  especially  the  opening  chapters,  the  supreme 
foundation,  if  these  chapters  were  myths,  the  entire 
New  Testament  would  have  to  be  given  up  as  un- 
authoritative. Indeed,  the  great  doctrines  in  Romans, 
starting  from  the  fact  that  man  is  a  fallen  being  and 
lost,  would  be  just  as  much  myths,  if  the  fall  of  man 
were  a  myth.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  put  His  seal 
to  this  great  Book. 

The  Criticism  of  Genesis. 

The  Book  of  Genesis,  being  the  foundation  of  the 
whole  Bible,  and  of  such  vast  importance,  it  does  not 
surprise  us  that  the  enemy  of  the  Truth  of  God  has 
directed  first  of  all  his  attacks  against  this  Book  to 
break  down  its  authority.  A  hundred  years  ago  and 
less  ,the  cunning  inventions  of  the  father  of  lies, 
directed  against  the  inspiration  of  Genesis  and  its 
unity,  occupied  mostly,  if  not  altogether,  the  minds  of 
theologians  and  scholars.  It  is  different  now.  The 
stock  of  trade  of  the  destructive  critics,  differing  but 
little  from  that  of  accredited  infidels,  has  become  the 
common  property  of  evangelical  Christendom.  The 
rationalistic  theories  concerning  the  date  and  author- 
ship of  Genesis  are  now  liberally  and  almost  universally 
displayed.  In  theological  seminaries  they  are  openly 
taught  and  hundreds  of  men,  who  claim  to  be  teachers 
of  the  oracles  of  God,  deny  the  inspiration  of  the  Book 
of  Genesis. 

The  Paternity  of  Higher  Criticism. 

That  such  a  denial  is  not  of  God  is  self  evident.  But 
it  is  interesting  to  examine  the  source  from  which  the 
destructive  criticism  of  Genesis  and  the  Pentateuch 
has  come.  The  man  who  has  been  called  the  "Sir  Isaac 
Newton  of  Criticism"  is  Jean  Astruc.    He  Vfas  a  French 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  3 

physician,  a  freethinker,  who  led  a  wicked,  immoral  life. 
In  1753  this  man  gave  to  the  world  his  doubts  in  a  work 
which  he  called,  "Conjectures  Regarding  the  Original 
Memoirs  in  the  Book  of  Genesis."  In  this  work  he 
taught  that  the  use  of  the  two  names  of  God  in  Genesis, 
Elohim  (translated  by  God)  and  Jehovah  (translated 
by  Lord)  showed  that  two  different  documents  were 
used  in  the  composition  of  the  Book.  The  hypothesis 
of  a  Jehovist  and  Elohist  writer,  so  called,  was  invented 
by  this  unsaved  man.  It  was,  however,  reserved  for 
a  German  scholar  and  rationalist  to  formulate  the 
denial  of  the  unity  and  inspiration  of  Genesis  into  a 
system.  This  man  was  Professor  Eichhorn.  He  coined 
the  phrase,  "Higher  Criticism,"  and  is  therefore  called 
the  "father"  of  it.  He  introduced  successfully  into  the 
theological  institutions  of  Germany  the  theory  of 
Astruc.  On  account  of  his  great  learning  his  invented 
higher  criticism  took  hold  upon  the  minds  of  thousands 
ci  people.  But  who  was  Professor  Eichhorn?  Let 
aiiother  Higher  Critic  give  the  answer.  Ewald,  himself 
such  a  powerful  factor  of  this  most  dangerous  in- 
fidelity, wrote:  "We  cannot  fail  to  recognize  that, 
from  the  religious  point  of  view  the  Bible  was  to  him 
a  closed  Book." 

Such  is  the  Paternity  of  the  now  widely  accepted 
"Higher  Criticism:"  an  immoral,  infidel  Frenchman  and 
an  unconverted,  blind  leader  of  the  blind,  a  German 
Professor. 

Their  Disciples. 

After  Eichhorn  came  other  men,  such  as  Vater  and 
Hartman,  who  tried  to  undermine  the  Mosaic  author- 
ship of  Genesis  by  still  another  theory.  Professor  De- 
Wette,  of  Heidelberg,  followed  closely  in  the  steps  of 
infidel  Eichhorn.  Bleeck  taught  still  another  theory. 
Then  we  mention  Ewald,  Hupfeld,  Prof.  Kuenen,  Dr. 
Davidson,    Robertson    Smith,    Canon    Driver,    George. 


4  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

Adams  Smith,  Professor  Briggs,  W.  Harper,  Marcus 
Dods  and  many  others,  who  may  all  be  fitly  called  the 
disciples  of  the  immoral  Frenchman  and  the  infidel 
German.  For  instance,  George  Adams  Smith  saith: 
"The  framework  of  the  first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis 
is  woven  from  the  raw  material  of  myth  and  legend." 
And  the  works  of  this  man  and  others  are  now  sold  at 
popular  prices  by  so  called  "Christian  Publishers." 

A  Complicated  Science. 

They  call  this  kind  of  criticism  scientific.  It  surely 
has  all  the  marks  of  so  called  science.  Speculation,  un- 
certainty and  complicated  statements  are  the  leading 
characteristics  of  this  criticism.  They  claim  now  that 
the  Pentateuch  (the  five  Books  written  by  Moses)  were 
never  written  by  him,  but  that  these  Books  consist  of 
four  diverse  documents.  These  they  designate  as  fol- 
lows :  1.  The  Jehovist.  2.  The  Elohist.  3.  The  Deut- 
eronomist.  4.  The  Priestly  Code.  The  authorship  of 
Moses  has  been  completely  given  up  and  it  is  claimed 
that  the  earliest  part  of  the  Pentateuch  was  perhaps 
written  600  years  after  Moses'  death.  They  put  the 
date  of  the  greater  part  of  these  five  Books  after  the 
Babylonian  captivity. 

A  writer  has  recently  given  a  fine  description  of  this 
higher  critical  "scientific"  nonsense,  part  of  which  we 
quote : 

"They  conjecture  that  these  four  suppositive  documents  were 
not  compiled  and  written  by  Moses,  but  were  probably  con- 
structed somewhat  after  this  fashion:  For  some  reason,  and  at 
some  time,  and  in  some  way,  someone  no  one  knows  who,  or 
why,  or  when,  or  where,  wrote  Jehovist.  Then  someone  else, 
no  one  knows  who,  or  why,  or  when,  or  where,  wrote  another 
document,  which  is  now  called  Elohist.  And  then  at  a  later 
time,  the  critics  only  know  who,  or  why,  or  when,  or  where,  an 
anonymous  personage,  whom  we  may  call  Redactor  I,  took 
in  hand  the  reconstruction  of  these  documents,  introduced  new 
material,  harmonized  the  real  and  apparent  discrepancies,  and 


THE    BOOK    OF    GEXESIS.  5 

•divided  the  inconsistent  accounts  of  one  event  into  two  separate 
transactions.  Then  some  time  after  this,  perhaps  one  hundred 
years  or  more,  no  one  knows  who,  or  why,  or  when,  or  where, 
some  anonymous  personage  wrote  another  document,  which  they 
styled  Deuteronomist.  And  after  awhile  another  anonymous 
author,  no  one  knows  who,  or  why,  or  when,  or  where, 
whom  we  will  call  Redactor  II,  took  this  in  hand,  compared 
it  with  Jehovist  and  Elohist,  revised  them  with  considerable 
freedom  and,  in  addition,  introduced  quite  a  body  of  new 
material.  Then  someone  else,  no  one  knows  who,  or  why,  or 
when,  or  where,  probably,  however,  about  525,  or  perhaps  425, 
wrote  the  Priestly  Code;  and  then  another  anonymous  Hebrew, 
whom  we  may  call  Redactor  III,  undertook  to  incorporate 
this  with  the  triplicated  composite  Jehovist,  Elohist  and  Deut- 
eronomist, with  what  they  call  radactional  additions  and  in- 
sertions."* 

This  describes  the  infidel  mudpuddle  into  which  these 
"great"  scholars  have  plunged  and  into  which  they 
would  like  to  lead  the  sheep  and  even  the  little  lambs. 

The  Mosaic  Authorship. 

"All  tradition,  from  whatever  source  it  is  derived, 
whether  inspired  or  uninspired,  unanimously  affirms 
that  the  first  five  Books  of  the  Bible  were  written  by 
one  man,  and  that  man  was  Moses.  There  is  no 
counter-testimony  in  any  quarter."  With  these  words, 
Prof.  William  Henry  Green  begins  his  learned  work  on 
the  Unity  of  Genesis.  Other  learned  men  in  past  gen- 
eration up  to  the  present  time  stand  firm  for  the 
Mosaic  authorship  of  Genesis,  and  thereby  affirm  the 
fact  of  revelation.  The  cry  of  the  Higher  Critics — 
^'ripe  scholarship,"  "access  to  better  sources,"  etc. — 
is  a  bluff.  The  best  scholarship  stands  by  the  Truth. 
Some  of  the  arguments  advanced  against  Moses  as 
writer  of  Genesis  are  exactly  the  argument  for  it  and 
the  evidences  of  inspiration.  For  instance,  the  use  of 
the  name  of  God  as  Elohim  and  Jehovah.    Elohim  is 


*Canon  Hague. 


6  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

the  name  of  God  as  Creator — Jehovah  is  His  name  as 
entering  into  covenant  relation  with  man.  The  use  of 
these  names  is  a  precious  evidence  of  the  work  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  and  not  an  evidence  of  different  writers 
and  documents. 

The  highest  authority  that  Moses  wrote  Genesis  and 
the  other  four  Books,  and  that  Genesis  is  the  revelation 
of  God,  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  spoke  repeatedly 
of  Moses  and  reminded  His  hearers  of  the  historic  facts 
as  given  in  Genesis.  This  fact  is  met  by  the  critics 
with  the  statement  that  our  Lord  was  not  a  critical 
scholar  and  limited  in  His  knowledge.  Such  state- 
ments are  akin  to  blasphemy. 

Needed  Information. 

The  information  concerning  the  criticism  upon  this 
great  Bible  Book  we  are  about  to  study  is  much 
needed.  Many  Christians  hear  of  Higher  Criticism 
without  knowing  what  it  is  and  how  it  originated.  The 
information  given  shows  that  it  originated  with 
wicked  men  and  that  it  is  an  attempt  to  destroy  the 
very  foundations  upon  which  the  whole  Scriptures  rest. 
Sometimes  Higher  Critics  have  a  way  of  telling  unin- 
formed Christians  that  the  views  they  hold  are  the 
consensus  of  the  best  scholarship.  This  is  untrue. 
Others,  again,  who  have  imbibed  these  views  hide  the 
worst  features  of  them.  For  this  reason  we  deem  it 
expedient  to  give  this  information. 

The  study  of  Genesis  will  deepen  the  faith  in  the  in- 
spiration and  revelation  of  the  first  Book  of  the  Bible. 
There  is  nothing  which  convinces  of  the  Divinity  of  the 
Bible  like  the  prayerful  and  spiritual  study  of  the  Bible 
itself.  And  the  Bible  has  nothing  to  fear.  It  needs 
neither  apology  nor  concessions. 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  T 

Revelation   or   Myth  ? 

A  FEW  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

From  the  sides  of  Infidelity,  Higher  Criticism  and  a 
certain  class  of  Scientists  objections  are  made  against 
the  opening  chapters  of  Genesis.  Not  only  is  the 
Mosaic  Authorship  denied  but  the  revelation  contained 
in  these  chapters  is  branded  as  unscientific  and  at  vari- 
ance with  the  facts  revealed  by  Science.  Others  class 
these  sublime  truths  concerning  Creation,  the  Fall  of 
Man,  the  Deluge,  etc.,  with  the  legends  of  primitive  na- 
tions and  thus  the  fact  of  revelation  is  altogether  de- 
nied. Inasmuch  as  these  wicked  statements  are  heard 
on  all  sides  from  pulpits  and  chairs  of  educational  in- 
stitutions, it  becomes  necessary  that  we  consider  briefly 
some  of  these  objections  and  uncover  their  absolute 
worthlessness.  The  purpose  of  our  work  forbids  a  more 
extended  treatment  of  these  objections.  Many  helpful 
and  interesting  books  have  been  written  by  scholars 
against  these  attacks.  Elsewhere  in  this  booklet  the 
reader  will  find  a  number  of  works  mentioned  which 
deal  with  these  attacks  in  a  masterly  way. 

Is  the  Creation  Account  Contradicted  by  Science? 

That  the  Creation  account  is  unscientific  and  in  clash 
with  the  discoveries  of  modern  science  is  one  of  the  com- 
mon statements.  It  has,  however,  no  foundation  what- 
ever. The  proofs  that  there  is  no  error  in  the  account 
of  Creation  as  revealed  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis, 
have  been  furnished  by  the  investigation  of  Science. 
The  order  of  creation  as  given  in  the  first  chapter  is 
the  order,  which,  after  years  of  searching — the  most 
laborious  searching — Science  has  discovered.    Over  and. 


'«  THE   BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

over  again  has  Science  with  its  guesses  and  speculations 
been  forced  to  bow  in  submission  before  the  simple  and 
brief  description  of  the  Creation  in  God's  Word.  There 
is  no  clash  between  the  Bible  and  the  results  of  true 
scientific  research.  Geology,  astronomy  and  other 
sciences  have  had  to  retrace  their  steps  more  than  once 
and  acknowledge  their  mistake ;  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis  will  never  have  to  do  that.  Years  ago  scien- 
tists ridiculed  the  divine  statement  that  the  first  thing 
called  into  existence  was  light ;  "let  there  be  light,"  and 
that  the  sun  was  made  on  the  fourth  day.  That  sneer 
is  forever  silenced,  for  science  has  found  out  that  light 
existed  first.  Again  for  a  long  time  it  was  denied  that 
vegetation  came  first  before  animal  life  was  on  this 
globe.  This  denial  has  likewise  been  stopped  by  scien- 
tific discoveries.  Other  evidences  that  the  Bible  is 
right  and  science  had  to  accept  the  truthfulness  of  the 
Creation  account  we  must  pass  by.  What  scientists 
should  explain  is,  how  in  a  simple  record  of  a  few 
verses,  which  antedates  all  scientific  research  and  dis- 
covery, such  accurate  information  is  given  without  any 
error  whatever.  Where  did  Moses  get  his  marvellous 
knowledge  from  which  the  scientific  research  of  nine- 
teenth century  confirms  correct  in  every  way?  There 
is  only  one  answer.  It  is  the  revelation  of  God. 

This  becomes  still  more  evident  when  the  Creation 
chapter  in  Genesis  is  compared  with  the  conceptions  of 
the  origin  of  the  earth  as  found  in  the  records  of  the 
oldest  nations.  What  ridiculous  things  were  believed 
concerning  creation  and  the  universe !  Why  did  Moses 
not  write  the  same  childish  things  but  instead  gives  a 
majestic  account  of  the  creation  of  the  earth  and  the 
heavens  ?  The  answer  is  and  ever  will  be,  his  account 
is  the  revelation  of  God  how  the  earth  and  the  heavens 
came  into  existence. 


THE   BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  9 

Is  There  a  Contradiction  Between  the  First  and  Second 
Chapters  of  Genesis? 

Another  favorite  argument  against  the  infallible 
record  of  Creation  is  that  the  first  and  second  chapters 
are  contradictory.  A  certain  N.  Y.  preacher  stated 
some  years  ago  in  Appleton's  Magazine  this  supposed  dif- 
ficulty. He  said,  "How  can  we  trouble  about  reconciling 
Genesis  and  Science"  while  the  two  accounts  of  the  first 
two  chapters  "are  so  hopelessly  at  variance?"  Criticism 
has  used  this  alleged  discrepancy  as  an  argument  for 
its  infidel  theories.  There  is,  however,  no  contradiction 
between  these  two  chapters.  The  second  chapter  in 
Genesis  is  not  another  history  of  creation  nor  does  it 
contradict  the  account  in  the  first  chapter.  The  histor- 
ical account  of  creation  as  a  whole  is  found  in  Genesis 
i-ii:3.  The  division  of  chapters  in  the  authorized 
version  is  unfortunate.  From  chapter  ii  :4  to  the  close 
of  the  chapter  we  have  not  a  historical  account  of  crea- 
tion at  all,  but  a  divine  statement  of  the  relationships 
of  creation,  that  is,  man's  place  in  it  as  its  head.  There 
are  no  contradictions  in  anything.  Genesis  i  :27  is  said 
to  clash  with  ii:21-22.  Such  a  clash  does  not  exist. 
Gen.  i:27  does  not  say  that  man  and  woman  were 
created  together,  nor  does  it  say  that  the  woman  was 
created  directly  and  not  formed  as  revealed  in  the 
second  chapter. 

The  Myths  of  Ancient  Nations. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  ancient  nations  such  as 
theChaldeans,  Egyptians,  Phoenicians, Hindus,  possessed 
myths  in  which  one  can  hear  now  and  then  a  faint  echo 
of  a  primeval  revelation  and  knowledge,  which  must 
have  been  in  possession  of  all  mankind  at  one  time. 
That  such  was  the  case  Romans  i:21-23  fully  confirms. 
All  mankind  knew  God  and  was  acquainted  with  the 
^reat  facts  of  history,  the  events  recorded  in  the  first 


10  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

eleven  chapters  of  Genesis.  As  they  became  vain,  their 
foolish  heart  was  darkened,  they  rushed  into  idolatry. 
Their  traditions,  however,  here  and  there  give  glimpses 
of  the  truth  they  once  knew.  It  is  impossible  to  give 
here  evidences  of  it  as  discovered  in  the  Assyrian 
tablets,  which  have  something  to  say  of  the  creation 
and  the  deluge,  known  now  as  ''the  Chaldean  Genesis." 
Other  traces  are  found  in  ancient  Phoenician  sources 
as  well  as  in  India,  among  the  Romans  and  the  Greeks, 
Babylonians,  Chinese  and  other  nations.  However,  all 
these,  including  "the  Chaldean  Genesis"  are  miserable 
contortions.  There  are  a  few  resemblances  and  many 
more  differences  between  the  Biblical  and  especially 
the  Babylonian  accounts.  It  is  claimed  that  Moses,  or 
since  Moses  did  not  write  according  to  this  infidel 
theory,  somebody  else,  made  use  of  these  myths  in 
writing  the  opening  chapters  of  Genesis.  This  far 
fetched  invention  has  no  foundation  at  all.  The  Book 
of  Genesis  is  not  the  offspring  of  Babylonian  tradition. 
God  gave  to  Moses  the  account  of  creation  and  the  be- 
ginnings of  history  by  direct  revelation  as  the  blessed 
foundation  of  all  subsequent  revelation  in  His  holy 
Word.  The  man,  who  boasts  of  scholarship,  and  brands 
the  first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis  as  myths,  putting 
them  alongside  of  the  traditions  of  ignorant  ancient 
nations,  but  reveals  his  ignorance  and  blindness. 

The  Deluge. 

This  great  catastrophe  has  also  been  denied  and 
ridiculed.  It  is  painful  to  mention  all  these  denials,  but 
it  is  needful  to  call  attention  to  these  attacks  on  the 
foundation  of  the  Bible.  Hundreds  of  men,  who  claim 
to  be  exponents  of  Christianity  speak  of  Noah  as  a 
myth  and  the  deluge  reported  in  Genesis  as  an  un- 
confirmed event.  Traditions  of  the  flood  are  found 
among  all  nations  and  exhibit  in  many  cases  a  very 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  11 

striking  agreement  with  the  divinely  given  record. 
These  traditions  are  found  in  India,  China,  Egypt  and 
Greece  as  well  as  among  the  Chaldeans  and  Babyloni- 
ans. Peruvians,  Mexicans,  Greenlanders  and  the  Teu- 
tonic races  possess  these  traditions.  Geology  also  gives 
the  most  decisive  evidence  of  such  a  judgment  by  water 
through  which  the  earth  passed.  The  surface  of  the 
earth  exhibits  a  deposit,  which  originated  after  a  uni- 
versal flood  and  which  is  called  diluvial  (flood)  land. 
Vast  quantities  of  bones  and  teeth  of  antediluvian 
animals,  masses  of  rock  and  boulder,  carried  by  the 
flood,  are  found  in  this  diluvial  deposit.  Many  pages 
could  be  filled  with  such  evidences. 


Nothing  Left  Unattacked. 

Nothing  has  been  left  unattacked  in  the  opening 
chapters  of  Genesis.  The  existence  of  Paradise,  the  fall 
of  man,  the  curse,  the  story  of  Cain  and  Abel,  Enoch's 
translation,  the  tower  of  Babel  and  every  other  recorded 
event  has  been  denied  and  is  increasingly  denied.  That 
our  Lord  referred  repeatedly  to  these  first  chapters  of 
the  Bible  and  thereby  confirmed  their  historicity  and 
revelation,  is  not  at  all  taken  in  consideration  by  these 
enemies  of  the  Word  of  God. 

But  the  foundation  rock  of  the  Bible,  the  Book  of 
Genesis  stands  as  firm  as  it  ever  stood.  It  can  never  be 
moved.  Let  them  dig  away !  Let  them  dash  against  it 
with  their  heads.  They  will  perish,  but  God's  Word 
abideth  forever.  In  a  day  when  apostasy  sweeps 
through  Christendom  like  a  mighty  avalanche,  let  us 
cling  closer  to  the  living  Word  of  the  living  God  and 
hold  fast  the  testimony  of  its  inerrancy.  And  now 
with  thankful  hearts  and  a  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit's 
guidance  we  come  to  the  Book  itself. 


12  THE   BOOK   OF    GENESIS. 


The  Division  of  Genesis^ 

Every  Book  of  the  Bible  has  a  key  and  also  hints- 
on  the  division  of  the  Book.  The  correct  way  in  unlock- 
ing the  Book  is  to  use  the  key  and  the  divisions  as 
given  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Book  itself.  The  Book 
of  Genesis  has  been  divided  in  perhaps  more  different 
ways  than  any  other  Book.*  In  looking  through  Genesis 
for  a  characteristic  word  we  have  no  difficulty  in  find- 
ing it  in  the  word  "Generations."  (Hebrew:  Toledoth.) 
It  is  used  eleven  times  in  this  Book.  The  first  time  the 
word  generations  occurs  is  in  chapter  ii:4.  The  Crea- 
tion Account  stands  therefore  by  itself.  This  gives  us- 
twelve  sections. 

I.  The  Creation  Account  i-ii:3. 

II.  The  Generations  of  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth 
ii:4-iv. 

III.  The  Generations  of  Adam  v-vi:8. 

IV.  The  Generations  of  Noah  vi:9-ix:29. 

V.  The  Generations  of  the  Sons  of  Noah  x-xi  :9. 

VI.  The  Generations  of  Shem  xi:  10-26. 

VII.  The  Generations  of  Terah  xi:27-xxv:ll. 

VIII.  The  Generations  of  Ishmael  xxv:  12-18. 

IX.  The  Generations  of  Isaac  xxv:19-xxxv. 

X.  The  Generations  of  Esau  xxxvi:l-8. 

XL    The  Generations  of  Esau's  Sons  xxxvi:9-43. 
XII.    The  Generations  of  Jacob  xxxvii  :2-l  :26. 

We  fully  agree  with  the  scholarly  remarks  of  Prof. 
Green  about  the  importance  of  this  division.  "These 
titles  are  designed  to  emphasize  and  render  more 
prominent  and  palpable  an  important  feature  of  the 


*Dr.  Campbell  Morgan  has  recently  added  another.  He 
divides  Genesis  in  three  parts:  Generation — Degeneration — Re- 
generation. 


THE   BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  13: 

book,  the  genealogical  character  of  its  history.  This 
results  from  its  main  design,  which  is  to  trace  the  line 
of  descent  of  the  chosen  race  from  the  beginning  to  the 
point  where  it  was  ready  to  expand  to  a  great  nation, 
whose  future  organization  was  already  foreshadowed, 
its  tribes  being  represented  in  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob, 
and  its  tribal  divisions  in  their  children.  The  genealo- 
gies  contained  in  the  book  are  not  merely  incidental  or 
subordinate,  but  essential,  and  the  real  basis  of  the 
whole.  They  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  addenda  to  the 
narrative,  scraps  of  information  introduced  into  it ;  they 
constitute  the  skeleton  or  framework  of  the  history 
itself." 

"There  is,  accordingly,  a  regular  series  of  genealo- 
gies of  like  structure,  or  rather  one  continuous  gene- 
alogy extending  from  Adam  to  the  family  of  Jacob. 
This  is  interrupted  and  suspended  from  time  to  time, 
as  occasion  requires,  for  the  sake  of  introducing  or  in- 
corporating facts  of  the  history  at  particular  points, 
where  they  belong;  after  which  it  is  resumed  again 
precisely  at  the  same  point,  and  proceeds  regularly  as 
before  until  it  reaches  its  utmost  limit,  thus  embracing 
the  entire  history  within  itself." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  beginning  and  the  end 
of  these  sections.  We  leave  this  as  a  suggestion  with 
the  reader.  The  reign  of  death  after  the  entrance  of 
sin  is  in  full  evidence  in  these  sections.  "Death  reign- 
ed from  Adam  to  Moses"  (Romans  v  :14) .  The  last  sec- 
tion ends  with  Joseph's  death  "and  he  was  put  in  a 
coffin  in  Egypt." 

In  our  annotations,  following  the  above  division,  we 
shall  trace  the  historical  account  and  point  out  some 
spiritual  and  dispensational  truths  giving  many 
hints,  which  may  be  followed  in  a  more  extended  study 
of  this  great  Book. 


14  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS, 


Part  L — The  Creation  Account. 

Chapter  1-11:3. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Book  of  Genesis  begins 
leaves  no  doubt  that  it  is  the  revelation  of  God.  The 
creation  account  is  historical  truth.  The  question  is 
how  was  it  given?  An  answer  to  this  question  claims 
that  the  Jews  obtained  the  account  from  the  records 
of  other  nations  concerning  the  origin  of  the  universe 
and  that  they  altered  it  according  to  their  own  religious 
ideas.  This  is  an  impossibility.  The  ancient  heathen 
nations  considered  God  and  the  universe  one  and  had 
absolutely  no  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  God  inde- 
pendent of  the  universe,  nor  did  they  know  anything 
of  a  creation  of  the  world.  Here  is  something  wholly 
different  from  all  the  theories,  mythologies  and  other 
inventions  of  the  human  race.  How  then  was  it  given  ? 
By  revelation  of  God  is  the  only  answer.  No  human 
being  knew  anything  about  the  origin  of  the  heavens 
and  the  earth.  Man  cannot  by  searching  find  out  God, 
nor  can  man  discover  how  the  earth  was  created  and 
all  things  came  into  existence.  How  ridiculous  the 
statements  and  opinions  on  the  creation  of  men  called 
great  thinkers,  not  to  speak  of  the  equally  foolish  be- 
liefs of  the  nations  of  the  past.  But  here  is  what  God 
makes  known,  how  He  called  all  things  into  existence. 
He  makes  known  that  the  universe  is  not  eternal  but 
that  He  created  it.  The  whole  account  is  of  wonderful 
grandeur  and  yet  of  the  greatest  simplicity ;  so  simple 
that  a  child  can  read  it  and  understand  the  truth,  but 
so  profound  that  the  greatest  men  have  bowed  before 
it. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  Bible  Study  Course  to 
enter  into  details  or  we  would  write  at  length  on  the 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  15 

Evolution  theory  with  its  invented  "proto-plasm." 
There  are  many  questions  which  the  Evolutionists  can- 
not answer  and  many  difficulties,  which  they  cannot 
explain.  Their  scientific  assertions  and  speculations 
require  one  to  believe  what  is  against  reason,  while 
God  never  expects  us  to  believe  what  is  contrary  to 
reason.  It  is  far  more  simple  to  accept  God's  revela- 
tion. "By  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds  have 
been  framed  by  the  Word  of  God,  so  that  what  is  seen 
hath  not  been  made  out  of  things  which  appear"  (Hebr. 
xi:3).  This  disposes  of  Evolution  and  the  other  theo- 
ries of  unbelieving  men,  who  reject  God's  Word. 

The  statement  which  one  hears  so  often  from  sneer- 
ing lips  that  the  Creation  account  is  unscientific  has  no 
foundation.  That  it  is  non-scientific  is  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent matter.  Galileo  the  astronomer  truthfully  said, 
"The  Scriptures  were  given,  not  to  tell  us  how  the 
heavens  go,  but  to  teach  us  how  to  go  to  heaven."  Yet, 
as  already  mentioned  in  our  introduction.  Science  had 
to  acknowledge  over  and  over  again  the  correctness 
of  the  Creation  Account  and  withdraw  the  objections 
and  assaults  which  had  been  made. 

CHAPTER  1:1.     THE  ORIGINAL  CREATION  OF  GOD. 

A  Ruined  Creation.     The  Brooding  Spirit  (verse  2). 

The  Restoration  of  the  Earth. 

1.  The  First  Day. — Light  (verses  3-5). 

2.  The  Second  Day. — The  dividing  of  the  waters  (verses  6-8). 

3.  The  Third  Day.— The  earth  out  of  the  waters.  Vegetable 
life  appears  (verses  9-13). 

4.  The  Fourth  Day. — The  Lights  in  the  Heavens  (verses  14^ 
19). 

5.  The  Fifth  Day. — Living  Creatures  in  the  waters  and  in 
the  air  (verses  20-23). 

6.  The  Sixth  Day. — Living  Creatures  made.  Man  created  in 
God's  Image  (verses  24-31). 

7.  The  Seventh  Day.— God's  rest  (ii:l-3). 

The  first  verse  of  the  Book  of  Genesis  and  of  the 


16  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

whole  Bible  stands  alone  in  majestic  greatness.  Like 
some  mountain  peak  rising  from  the  valley  in  solitary- 
grandeur  with  its  snow-capped  summit,  it  inspires  awe. 
In  the  Hebrew  the  verse  is  composed  of  seven  words. 
When  that  Beginning  was  in  which  God  created  the 
Heavens  and  the  earth  is  not  revealed.  It  must  have 
been  many  millions  of  years  ago;  God  only  knows  it 
and  Science  can  never  discover  it.  It  is  incorrect  to 
say  that  it  was  6,000  years  ago.  God  does  not  speak 
of  Himself;  no  statement  concerning  His  existence  or 
His  eternity  is  given.  How  different  from  the  myths 
and  speculations  of  pagan  nations.  God's  Name  men- 
tioned for  the  first  time  in  the  Bible  is  "Elohim."  It  is 
in  the  plural  indicating  God's  great  dignity  and  power 
as  well  as  the  fact  that  God  is  triune.  (See  the  "Let 
us  make  man,"  in  verse  26.)  Elohim  is  God's  Name 
as  Creator.  This  verse  answers  all  the  different  "isms" 
about  God  and  His  creation,  while  its  depths  cannot  be 
sounded.  Here  Atheism  is  answered;  Polytheism  (the 
many  gods  of  the  heathen)  is  exposed  to  be  false.  The 
verse  disproves  Materialism  as  well  as  Pantheism,  that 
God  and  the  Universe  are  one. 

It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  understand  that 
the  condition  in  which  the  earth  (not  the  heavens)  is 
described  in  the  second  verse  is  not  how  God  created 
it  in  the  beginning.  Scripture  itself  tells  us  this.  Read 
Isaiah  xlv:18.  The  Hebrew  word  for  "without  form" 
is  tohu,  which  means  waste.  "The  earth  was  waste  and 
void."  But  in  the  passage  of  Isaiah  we  read,  "He 
created  it  not  a  waste."  The  original  earth  passed 
through  a  great  upheaval.  A  judgment  swept  over  it, 
which  in  all  probability  must  have  occurred  on  account 
of  the  fall  of  that  mighty  creature,  Lucifer,  who  fell  by 
pride  and  became  the  Devil.  The  original  earth,  no 
doubt,  was  his  habitation  and  he  had  authority  over  it 
which  he  still  claims  as  the  Prince  of  this  world.  Luke 
iv:5-6  shows  us  this.    The  earth  had  become  waste  and 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  17 

■void;  chaos  and  darkness  reigned.  What  that  original 
earth  was  we  do  not  know,  but  we  know  that  aninial 
and  vegetable  life  was  in  existence  long  before  God 
began  to  restore  the  earth.  The  immense  fossil  beds 
prove  this.  But  they  likewise  prove  that  man  was  not 
then  on  the  earth.  Between  the  first  and  second  verses 
•of  the  Bible  there  is  that  unknown  period  of  millions  of 
years  of  which  geology  gets  a  glimpse  in  studying  the 
crust  of  the  earth.  God  waited  His  own  time  in 
majestic  calmness  when  He  would  begin  to  carry  out 
His  plans  He  had  made  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world. 

When  that  time  arrived  God  began  to  bring  order 
into  the  chaos  and  restored  His  creation  so  that  the 
earth  which  is  now  and  the  heavens  above  came  forth. 
The  Spirit  moving  (brooding)  upon  the  waters  and  His 
Word  were  the  agents  through  which  it  was  accom- 
plished. Read  John  i  :l-3 ;  Col.  i  :15-16 ;  Hebr.  i  :2-3.  We 
do  not  follow  the  historical  account  and  the  six  days' 
work,  but  call  attention  to  the  correspondency  between 
the  first  three  days  and  the  last  three.  The  seventh 
day  stands  by  itself. 

First  Day:  Light. 

Second  Day :  Dividing  of  Waters. 

Third  Day:  The  earth  out  of  the  waters;  vegetable  life. 

Fourth  Day:  Solar  system;  lights. 

Fifth  Day:  Life  in  the  waters. 

Sixth  Day:  Life  on  the  earth.     Man  created. 

Seventh  Day:  God  rests. 

The  word  "create"  is  used  only  three  times.  In  the 
first  verse  it  applies  to  the  original  creation,  when  God 
called  everything  into  existence  out  of  nothing.  Then 
we  find  it  in  verse  21  in  connection  with  the  calling 
forth  of  living  creatures  (Nephesh — soul)  and  in  verse 
27  in  connection  with  Man.  The  other  word  used  is 
the  word  "made."  This  necessitates  the  existence  of 
material  which  is  shaped  into  something;  the  word 
^'create"  does  not  require  existence  of  matter. 


18  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

The  Light  which  came  forth  on  the  first  day  was 
light  before  the  Sun,  a  fact  well  known  to  science. 

The  creation  of  Man  is  the  crowning  act  of  the 
Creator  and  precedes  His  rest.  "Let  us  make  Man"  is 
the  counsel  of  the  Godhead.  God  then  created  man  in 
His  own  image.  In  the  second  chapter  we  read  that 
He  formed  him  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth  and  breath- 
ed into  his  nostrils  and  man  became  a  living  soul. 

The  deeper  Lessons  of  the  Creation.  The  Creation 
account  has  a  most  interesting  typical  and  dispensa- 
tional  meaning.  In  dealing  with  the  individual  in  re- 
demption and  dealing  with  ruined  creation  by  the  fall 
of  man,  God  follows  the  order  of  the  six  days'  work.* 
We  give  a  few  hints.  The  ruined  creation  wasted  and 
void,  covered  with  the  dark  waters  and  in  darkness  is 
the  picture  of  fallen  Man.  The  two  agents  God  used  in 
the  restoration  of  the  ruined  creation,  the  Spirit  and 
the  Word  are  the  agents  of  the  new  birth.  "Born  of 
the  Spirit"  and  of  the  "incorruptible  seed  of  the  Word 
of  God."  In  redemption  God  uses  the  word  "create" 
not  the  word  "made,"  because  what  we  receive  by  faith 
in  His  Son  is  not  a  mending  of  an  old  nature,  but  we  are 
a  new  creation ;  created  in  Christ  Jesus.  David  prayed, 
"Create  in  me  a  clean  heart."  The  work  of  the  first  day 
is  touched  upon  in  2  Cor.  iv:6.  "For  God,  who  com- 
manded the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness  hath  shined 
in  our  hearts."  When  that  light  shines  upon  us  it  re- 
veals the  ruin  of  ourselves.  The  second  day  brings  be- 
fore us  the  separation,  which  follows  the  manifestation 
of  the  light.  The  third  day  stands  for  resurrection,  for 
the  earth  came  out  of  the  waters  and  brings  forth 
grass,  herbs  and  trees,  yielding  fruit.    Throughout  the 


*We  recommend  to  every  student  of  this  Book  F.  W.  Grant's 
"Genesis  in  the  Light  of  the  New  Testament,"  where  this  is 
fully  developed. 


THE   BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  19 

entire  Bible  this  meaning  of  the  third  day  may  be 
traced.*  The  spiritual  truth  here  is  that  if  the  Light 
has  shown  in  and  we  believe  we  are  "risen  with  Christ" 
and  the  fruit  bearing,  which  is  the  result  of  this.  The 
fourth  day  directs  our  attention  heavenward ;  there  we 
are  seated  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus. 
The  fifth  day  brings  before  us  again  the  restless  waters 
and  the  life  manifested  there.  Out  of  the  midst  of 
these  waters  life  comes.  Even  so  in  Christian  ex- 
perience down  here.  The  sixth  day  points  to  the  time 
of  the  completion  of  the  new  creation,  while  the  seventh 
day  reveals  the  eternal  Rest. 

Dispensationally  the  lessons  from  the  First  chapter 
in  Genesis  are  still  more  interesting. 

The  First  Day :  The  Age  before  the  Flood.  The  Light 
shines  in. 

The  Second  Day:    The  Age  of  Noah. 

The  Third  Day;    The  Age  of  Abraham  and  his  seed. 

The  Fourth  Day:  The  present  Age.  Christ  the  Sun; 
the  Moon  typical  of  the  church.  Individual  be- 
lievers represented  by  stars. 

The  Fifth  Day:  The  restless  waters.  The  Times  of 
the  Gentiles  ending,  "the  sea  and  the  waves  roar- 
ing."   The  great  tribulation. 

The  Sixth  Day:  The  Kingdom  rule  established  over 
the  earth  in  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ. 

The  Seventh  Day:  The  eternal  Ages.  God  is  all  in 
all. 

It  is  equally  interesting  to  see  that  the  same  dis- 
pensational  truths  gather  around  the  names  of  seven 
of  the  prominent  actors  of  the  Book  of  Genesis.    These 


*It  is  the  day  of  resurrection  and  restoration.  Gen.  xxii:4; 
xl:20-22;  xlii:18;  Ex.  xv:22;  xix:ll;  Numb.  vii;24;  Josh.  ii:16; 
2  Kings  xx:5;  Esther  v:l;  ix:18;  Hos.  vi:2;  John  ii:l;  Luke 
xiii:23. 


20  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

are:    Adam,  Seth,  Noah,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob  and 
Joseph.    We  quote  from  another: 

Adam  gives  us  the  beginning,  when,  with  the  entrance  of 
God's  Word,  light  comes  into  the  soul  of  a  sinner,  and  God  meets^ 
him  as  such  with  the  provision  of  His  grace  (chap.  iii). 

Then  (chap,  iv  and  v),  we  have  the  history  of  the  two  "seeds," 
and  their  antagonism, — a  story  which  has  its  counterpart  in  the 
history  of  the  world  at  large,  but  also  in  every  individual  soul 
where  God  has  wrought,  and  where  the  "flesh  lusteth  against 
the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh,  and  these  are  con- 
trary the  one  to  the  other." 

Next,  Noah's  passage  through  the  judgment  of  the  old  world 
into  a  new  scene,  accepted  of  God  in  the  sweet  savor  of  sacri- 
fice, is  the  type  of  where  salvation  puts  us — "in  Christ,  a  new 
creation:  old  things  passed  away,  and  all  things  become  new"' 
(chap.  vi-xi:9). 

Abraham's  Canaan-life — pilgrim  and  stranger,  but  a  wor- 
shiper, gives  us  the  fruit  and  consequence  of  this — a  "walk  in 
Him"  whom  we  have  received  (chap.  xi:10-xxi). 

Then,  Isaac,  our  type  as  "sons"  (Gal.  iv:28),  speaks  to  us  of 
a  self-surrender  into  a  Father's  hands,  the  door  into  a  life  of 
quiet  and  enjoyment,  as  it  surely  is  (chap.  xxii-xxiv:33). 

Jacob  speaks  of  the  discipline  of  sons,  by  which  the  crooked 
and  deceitful  man  becomes  Israel,  a  prince  with  God, — a  chasten- 
ing of  love,  dealing  with  the  fruits  of  the  old  nature  in  us  (chap. 
xxvi:34;  xxxvii:!). 

While  Joseph,  the  fullest  image  of  Christ,  suffers,  not  for  sin. 
but  for  righteousness'  sake,  and  obtains  supremacy  over  the 
world  and  fulness  of  blessing  from  the  Almighty  One,  his. 
strength.* 

How  marvellous  all  this  is !  And  yet  we  touch  only 
upon  the  surface.  The  highest  evidence  for  the  Word 
of  God  is  the  Word  itself.  No  man  or  human  genius 
could  have  ever  produced  such  a  document  as  the  First 
Chapter  of  Genesis,  which  contains  in  embryo  all  the 
subsequent  revelations  of  God.    It  is  God's  Revelation. 


"Genesis  in  the  Light  of  the  New  Testament. 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  21 

Part  IL — The  Generations  of  the  Heavens 
and  the  Earth. 

Chapters  11:4— IV:26. 

CHAPTER  11:4-25. 
Man  in  Innocency  before  the  Fall. 

1.  The  Earth  his  abode  (verses  4-6). 

2.  The  Creation  of  Man   (verse  7). 

3.  The  Garden  of  Eden  (verses  8-14). 

4.  Man  in  the  Garden.    His  Commission  (verses  15-17). 

a.  To  keep  the  Garden. 

b.  The  Commandment. 

5.  No  helpmeet  for  Adam  found  (verses  18-20). 

6.  The  formation  of  the  woman  (verses  21-22), 

7.  The  Union  (verses  23-25). 

This  is  not  a  new  version  of  the  Creation  or  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  account  in  the  preceding  chapter.  The  re- 
lationships of  the  created  Man  to  nature  and  to  His 
Creator  are  now  more  specifically  introduced.  The 
Name  of  God  appears  now  no  longer  as  "Elohim"  but 
another  Name  precedes  the  word  Elohim;  it  is  the 
Name  "Jehovah."  This  name  is  used  because  it  is  the 
Name  of  God  in  relationship  with  Man,  Jehovah  is  the 
Son  of  God. 

In  verse  7  we  have  the  Creation  of  Man  revealed. 
Jehovah  God  formed  him  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth ; 
He  breathed  into  His  nostrils  the  breath  of  life.  Here 
is  that  which  distinguishes  Man  from  the  Beast.  The 
animals  also  are  living  souls,  but  not  immortal.  Man 
alone  became  a  living  soul  by  the  inbreathing  of  Jeho- 
vah Elohim  and  that  constitutes  man  immortal. 

The  Garden  of  Eden  was  situated  in  a  fertile, 
pleasant  plain,  somewhere  near  the  two  streams  still 
known  by  their  names,  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris 
(Hiddekel).  The  tree  of  life  represents  Christ,  while 
the  rivers  of  water  are  clearly  the  types  of  the  Holy 


22  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

Spirit.  What  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil 
was  no  one  knows.  The  command  was  given  to  test 
man  in  his  innocency.  Adam  unfallen  had  not  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  That  knowledge  was 
acquired  by  the  fall.  The  test,  therefore,  involved  not 
some  great  moral  evil  but  simply  the  authority  and 
right  of  God  to  prohibit  something.  The  tree  of 
knowledge  then  represented  responsibility. 

"Thou  shalt  surely  die"  means  literally  "dying  thou 
shalt  die."  This  does  not  mean  "eternal  death,"  but 
"physical  death." 

The  formation  of  the  woman  is  highly  typical.  Adam 
is  the  figure  of  Him  who  was  to  come  (Rom.  v:14)  the 
last  Adam.  Here  Christ  and  the  Church  are  fore- 
shadowed. The  deep  sleep  into  which  Adam  was  put 
by  Jehovah  Elohim  is  typical  of  the  death  of  the  Cross. 
The  woman,  built  out  of  His  side,  is  the  type  of  the 
Church.  As  the  helpmeet  of  Adam  was  bone  of  his 
bone,  and  flesh  of  his  flesh  and  also  the  bride  of  Adam, 
so  is  the  church  the  Body  and  the  Bride  of  Christ.  The 
woman  was  brought  to  Adam  and  presented  to  him. 
But  Christ  will  present  the  Church  to  Himself  (Eph. 
v:27).  Marriage  is  indicated  in  verse  24  and  quoted 
in  Matth.  xix:5;  1  Cor.  vi:16,  and  Eph.  v:31:  Both 
were  naked,  the  suitable  condition  for  innocence. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Fall  of  Man. 

1.  The  Serpent  and  the  Woman  (verses  1-5). 

2.  The  Fall  and  the  immediate  Results  (verses  6-7). 

3.  Jehovah  Elohim  questions  Adam  (verses  8-12). 

4.  His  question  to  the  woman  (verse  13). 

5.  The  Curse  upon  the  Serpent  (verses  14-21). 

6.  The  fii'st  Prophecy  (verse  15). 

7.  The  Sentence  upon  the  Woman  (verse  16). 

8.  The  sentence  upon  the  Man  (verses  17-19). 

9.  The  Faith  of  Adam  and  God's  Answer  (verses  20-21). 

10.  The  Expulsion  and  the  guarding  Cherubim  (verses  22-24). 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  23 

Another  actor  is  now  introduced,  the  Adversary  of 
■God.  His  Person  and  his  history  are  not  revealed  here. 
The  last  Book  of  the  Bible  speaks  of  him  as  "the  great 
dragon,  that  old  serpent,  called  the  Devil  and  Satan" 
(Rev.  xii:9).  Our  Lord  called  him  "the  murderer 
from  the  beginning"  and  "the  father  of  lies."  He  used 
a  creature  of  the  field  to  deceive  the  woman  and  to  ruin 
the  restored  creation  by  the  introduction  of  sin.  The 
word  "Serpent"  is  in  the  Hebrew  "Nachash,"  which 
means  "a  shining  one."  It  is  evident  that  this  creature 
was  not  then  a  reptile  like  the  serpent  of  to-day.  The 
curse  put  the  serpent  into  the  dust.  This  creature 
Satan  possessed  and  perhaps  made  still  more  beautiful 
so  as  to  be  of  great  attraction  to  the  woman.  He 
transformed  himself  in  this  subtle  way,  "The  Serpent 
beguiled  Eve  through  his  subtlety"  (2  Cor.  ii:3),  "And 
no  marvel;  for  Satan  himself  transforms  himself  into 
an  angel  of  light"  (2  Cor.  ii:14).  Of  this  marvellous 
Eeing  having  access  to  the  Garden  of  Eden  we  read  in 
Ezekiel  xxxviii:13. 

Some  brand  the  opening  verses  of  Genesis  HI  as 
myth.  If  it  were,  all  else  in  God's  Word  concerning 
jMan  and  his  redemption  would  collapse.  Others  look 
upon  it  as  an  allegory,  but  it  is  a  historical  fact  and 
this  revelation  gives  the  only  explanation  of  the  origin 
■of  evil  and  its  existence. 

Speaking  to  the  woman  he  awakened  doubt  in  God's 
Word.  In  speaking  of  God  he  avoided  the  word  "Je- 
hovah;" but  only  spoke  of  God.  Then  he  acts  as  the 
accuser  of  God  and  uttered  his  lie,  which,  as  the  father 
of  lies  he  still  continues  "ye  shall  not  surely  die."  The 
crime  of  the  devil  by  which  he  fell,  that  is,  pride,  is  also 
shown  in  the  words  "ye  shall  be  as  gods."  The  woman 
listened  to  the  tempter's  voice.  She  saw  it  was  good 
and  that  it  was  pleasant ;  she  desired,  she  took,  she  ate 
;and  gave  unto  her  husband.    It  is  the  beginning  of  the 


24  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eyes  and  the  pride  of 
life.* 

Their  eyes  were  opened  at  once.  They  discovered 
their  nakedness  and  made  themselves  coverings  from 
fig  leaves.  When  they  heard  the  voice  of  Jehovah 
Elohim  they  hid  themselves.  Shame  and  fear  were 
the  immediate  results  of  the  fall.  What  the  first 
parents  did  to  hide  their  nakedness  by  sewing  figleaves 
together  is  still  the  natural  man's  occupation.  Man 
attempts  by  the  labor  of  his  hands,  by  his  religious 
profession  and  morality  to  cover  his  nakedness. 

Jehovah  Elohim  came  to  seek  that  which  was  lost. 
Adam  did  not  seek  the  Lord,  but  the  Lord  sought  him 
and  Eve. 

The  curse  was  then  pronounced  upon  the  Serpent  and 
the  earth  was  cursed  on  account  of  Man  and  sentence 
pronounced  upon  the  Man  and  the  Woman.  The  evi- 
dences of  all  this  are  about  us.  The  sentence  "dying 
thou  shalt  die,"  that  is  physical  death,  the  wages  of 
sin,  was  not  executed  at  once. 

The  first  prophecy  in  verse  15  announces  the  Seed  of 
the  Woman,  Christ,  and  His  triumphant  work  over  the 
Serpent  and  his  work  as  well  as  the  death  of  the  Seed. 
Out  of  this  first  prediction  all  prophecy  is  developed. 
Space  forbids  to  enlarge  upon  this  great  verse. 

Adam  believed  God's  Word  for  he  called  now  his 
wife  "Eve."  The  word  Eve  is  "Chavah"  in  Hebrew, 
and  means  "Life."  God  answered  his  faith  by  making 
unto  Adam  and  Eve  clothes  of  skin.  Jehovah  Elohim 
must  have  slain  an  animal,  perhaps  a  lamb,  to  provide 
the  skin.  The  first  blood  must  then  have  been  shed 
and  the  Lord  provided  the  covering  for  Adam  and  Eve. 
Its  meaning  as  a  type  needs  no  further  comments. 


♦Compare  with  the  temptations  of  the  last  Adam,  the  Lord 
Jesus,  in  the  wilderness. 


THE   BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  25 

They  were  driven  out  of  Eden  so  as  to  avoid  the 
possibihty  of  taking  of  the  tree  of  life  and  Hve  for- 
ever. This  is  used  as  an  argument  that  man  through 
the  fall  lost  his  immortal  soul.  It  only  refers  to  the 
body.  If  they  had  eaten  of  the  tree  of  life  they  would 
have  lived  forever  in  the  body  and  physical  death 
would  then  not  have  been  possible. 

The  Cherubim  are  not  symbols  but  actual  Beings. 
We  find  them  elsewhere  revealed,  Ps.  xviiiilO;  Ezek. 
i:5;  x:l;  Rev.  iv  and  v.  The  flaming  burning  sword  is 
symbolic  of  the  holiness  of  God. 

With  the  Third  chapter  of  Genesis  the  waiting  of 
the  Heavens  and  of  the  Earth  began.  Heaven  waiting 
to  send  Him  forth  to  deal  with  the  question  of  sin 
and  the  earth  waiting  for  redemption  and  deliverance. 
What  marvellous  chapters  these  first  three  chapters 
of  the  Bible  are !  The  entire  Word  of  God  rests  upon 
them  and  is  linked  with  them. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
After  the  Fall.     The  Two  Seeds. 

1.  Cain  and  Abel.     1-2. 

2.  Their  Offerings.     3-5. 

3.  The  Divine  Remonstrance.     6-7. 

4.  Abel  Slain  by  his  Brother.     8. 

5.  Cain's  Judgment.     9-16. 

6.  Cain  and  his  Offspring.  The  Progress  of  the  World. 
17-24. 

7.  Seth  in  Place  of  Abel.     25-26. 

This  chapter  is  filled  with  many  lessons.  Here  are 
types  of  the  Seed  of  the  Woman,  Christ.  Christ  as  the 
Good  Sheperd,  the  death  of  Christ,  the  shedding  of 
blood,  the  atonement,  righteousness  by  faith,  the  self- 
righteousness  of  the  sinner  and  his  rejection  are  here 
indicated.  We  find  in  this  chapter  types  of  the  Jewish 
Nation  and  their  blood  guiltiness  as  well  as  the  record 
of  the  progressing  civilization  of  that  age. 


26  THE   BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

Eve's  first  son  was  Cain.  (Acquired  of  Jehovah.)  This 
tells  of  her  faith;  she  believed  her  first  born  was  the 
promised  Seed.  Cain,  however,  is  the  type  of  the 
natural  man,  the  flesh,  the  offspring  of  the  Serpent. 
The  second  son  born  was  Abel.  (Vapor.) 

Cain's  offering  and  worship  was  that  of  the  natural, 
self-righteous  man,  who  needs  no  blood,  but  trusts  in 
his  character  and  good  works.  Cain  did  not  believe  in 
what  Jehovah  Elohim  had  declared  concerning  sin, 
the  penalty  of  sin;  and  he  did  not  believe  in  the  pre- 
diction of  Gen.  iii:15.  God  had  cursed  the  ground, 
but  Cain  brought  of  the  fruit  of  the  ground.  To-day 
the  masses  of  professing  Christians  "go  in  the  way  of 
Cain"  (Jude  10-11). 

Abel's  offering  consisted  of  the  firstlings  of  the 
flock.  He  believed  himself  a  sinner  who  had  deserved 
death.  He  believed  in  substitutionary  sacrifice  (Heb. 
xi:4.) 

Abel  is  a  type  of  Christ.  Abel  was  a  Shepherd. 
There  is  no  report  of  evil  about  him.  He  was  hated 
by  his  brother  without  a  cause.  Abel  died  on  account 
of  his  brother's  sin. 

Cain,  who  hated  Hi's  brother  Abel,  foreshadows  the 
Jew,  who  rejected  Christ  and  delivered  Him  into  the 
hands  of  the  Gentiles  and  shed  innocent  blood.  As 
Cain  had  blood  guiltiness  upon  himself,  the  blood  of 
his  brother  Abel,  so  there  is  blood  guiltiness  upon  the 
Jewish  race.  "His  blood  be  upon  us  and  our  children," 
was  their  demand.  Cain's  judgment  is  typical  of  the 
punishment  which  came  upon  the  Jewish  people.  Like 
Cain,  they  were  driven  from  Him;  became  wanderers 
over  the  face  of  the  earth ;  bearing  a  mark,  everybody 
is  against  them.  Cain  went  with  his  wife  (one  of  his 
sisters)  to  the  Land  of  Nod.  He  built  a  city.  His 
hope  was  in  earthly  things.  The  progress  of  the  Cain- 
ites  is  given.     Polygamy  began  with  Lamech.     Jubal 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  27 

became  inventor  of  harp  and  pipe.  Tubal-Cain  was  the 
worker  in  brass  and  iron.  Then  there  is  a  song  of 
defiance  celebrating  murder.  The  age  advanced  in 
civilization,  inventions,  making  the  earth  under  the 
curse  attractive ;  on  the  other  hand,  lust,  violence,  vice 
and  crime  increased.  But  Cain's  seed  was  also  religious 
following  Cain's  worship.  The  name  of  El  (God)  ap- 
pears in  some  of  Cain's  offspring. 

The  third  son  of  Adam  was  Seth.  From  him  springs 
the  Seed.  Seth  is  the  type  of  Christ  risen  from  the 
dead.  Abel,  the  first,  died;  Seth,  the  second,  lives. 
"Then  people  began  to  call  at  the  name  of  Jehovah." 
True  worship  is  only  possible  in  the  Second  Man,  Christ 
risen  from  the  dead. 


28  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

Part  III. — The  Book  of  the  Generations  of 
Adam. 

Chapter  V-VI:8. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Adam  and  his  Seed  Through  Seth. 

1.  Adam.     1-5.  6.  Jared.     18-20. 

2.  Seth.     6-8.  7.  Enoch.     21-24. 

3.  Enos.     9-11.  8.  Methuselah.     25-27. 

4.  Cainan.     12-14.  9.  Lamech.    28-31. 

5.  Mahalaleel.     15-17.  10.  Noah.     32. 

Here  we  find  the  record  of  the  Seed  of  Seth.  There 
is  a  striking  contrast  with  the  record  of  the  Cainites 
in  the  previous  chapter.  The  Cainites  were  progres- 
sive, built  cities  and  made  inventions.  Nothing  is  said 
of  the  God-fearing  generations  in  this  chapter  accom- 
pHshing  great  earthly  things.  They  were  pilgrims  and 
strangers,  waiting  for  better  things.  In  the  Fourth 
chapter  the  word  "die"  is  not  mentioned.  Nothing  is 
said  of  the  duration  of  the  life  of  Cain  and  his  seed. 
Eight  times  in  the  Fifth  chapter  we  read,  "and  he 
died."  One  did  not  die.  We  learn  from  this  that  the 
Lord  keeps  a  record  of  the  lives,  the  work  and  the 
years  of  His  people.    His  Saints  are  in  His  hands. 

The  names  of  ten  generations  translated  give  a 
startling  revelation.  In  them  we  read  the  faith  of  the 
pious  generations  before  the  Flood  and  for  what  they 
waited. 

Adam Man.  Jared Descends. 

Seth Set.  Enoch Teaching. 

Enos Frailty.  Methuselah.  Death  sent  away. 

Cainan  Deplorable.  Lamech Powerful. 

Mahalaleel The  Blessed  God.  Noah Rest,  Comfort. 

The  record  of  Enoch  must  be  compared  with  Jude, 
14-16  and  Hebrews,  xi:5.  He  was  translated  before 
the  great  judgment  swept  over  the  earth.  Enoch  is  a 
type  of  the  living  Saints  at  the  close  of  the  present  age, 
who  will  be  changed  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  29 

an  eye.  Study  Enoch's  walk,  Enoch's  faith,  Enoch's 
testimony,  Enoch's  suffering  and  Enoch's  translation 
with  the  help  of  the  New  Testament  passages. 

CHAPTER  VI:l-8. 
The  Increasing  Corruption. 

1.  The  Sons  of  God  and  the  Daughters  of  Men.     1-2. 

2.  The  Warning  of  Jehovah.     3. 

3.  Increased  Wickedness.     4-6. 

4.  Judgment  Announced.     7. 

5.  Noah  Found  Grace.     8. 

The  question  is  who  are  the  sons  of  God  who  took 
the  daughters  of  men.  The  general  view  is  that  the 
sons  of  God  were  the  pious  descendants  of  Seth  and 
the  daughters  of  men,  the  Cainitish  offspring.  How- 
ever, there  are  strong  arguments  against  it. 

1.  There  is  no  proof  in  the  text  that  the  daughters  of 
men  were  only  the  descendants  of  the  Cainites,  The 
text  supports  the  view  that  in  "daughters  of  men"  the 
natural  increase  of  the  whole  human  family  is  meant, 
and  not  a  special  class. 

2.  The  theory  that  "Sons  of  God"  must  mean  pious 
people  can  likewise  not  be  sustained.  The  term  Sons  of 
God  is  never  applied  in  the  Old  Testament  to  believers. 
Isaiah  xliii:6  refers  to  the  future  gathering  of  the 
godly  remnant  of  Israel.  That  the  believer  is  a  son 
of  God,  predestinated  to  the  son — place,  with  the  spirit 
of  sonship  in  him,  crying,  "Abba,  Father,"  is  exclusive- 
ly a  New  Testament  revelation. 

3.  The  result  of  the  marriage  of  the  sons  of  God 
with  the  daughters  of  men  were  children,  who  were 
heroes,  men  of  the  Name.  If  the  sons  of  God  were 
simply  the  pious  Sethites,  who  mixed  with  the  Cain- 
ites, it  is  hard  to  understand  why  the  offspring  should 
be  a  special  race,  heroes,  men  of  the  Name.  The  giants 
were  Nephilim,  which  means  "the  fallen  ones." 

"Sons  of  God"  is  the  term  applied  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment  to   supernatural   beings,   both   good   and   evil. 


30  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

Angels  good  and  fallen  are  termed  sons  of  God  in  the 
Old  Testament.  Satan  himself  is  reckoned  among  the 
sons  of  God  in  Job  i:6,  and  ii:l.  The  term  sons  of 
God  must  mean  here  supernatural  evil  beings.  These 
evil  beings  came  down  out  of  the  air  and  began  to  take 
possession  of  such  of  the  daughters  of  men  as  they 
chose. 

"For  if  God  spared  not  the  angels  which  sinned,  but 
cast  them  down  to  hell,  and  delivered  them  unto  chains 
of  darkness,  to  be  reserved  unto  judgment;  and  spared 
not  the  old  world,  but  saved  Noah  the  eighth,  a 
preacher  of  righteousness,  bringing  in  the  Flood  upon 
the  world  of  the  ungodly"  (2  Pet.  ii:4,  5). 

Here  we  have  a  New  Testament  hint  on  Genesis 
vi:l-5.  The  Scripture  declares  that  the  fallen  angels 
are  still  loose ;  here,  however,  are  angels,  which  sinned 
and  God  did  not  spare  them.  Another  passage  in 
Jude's  Epistle  is  still  more  significant :  "And  the  angels 
which  kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left  their  own 
habitation.  He  hath  reserved  in  everlasting  chains  un- 
der darkness  unto  the  Judgment  of  the  great  day." 
This  statement  in  Jude  is  linked  with  the  sin  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrha. 

We  stand  not  alone  in  this  exposition.  "The  sons  of 
God,  in  my  judgment,  mean  the  same  beings  in  Gene- 
sis as  they  do  in  Job.  This  point  will  suffice  to  indicate 
their  chief  guilt  in  thus  traversing  the  boundaries 
which  God  appointed  for  His  creatures.  No  wonder 
that  total  ruin  speedily  ensues.  It  is  really  the  basis 
of  fact  for  not  a  few  tales  of  mythology  which  men 
have  made  up."  *  God  has  veiled  the  awful  corruption 
and  we  dare  not  intrude  into  the  secret  things. 

May  we  remember  that  our  Lord  has  told  us,  "As  it 
was  in  the  days  of  Noah,  so  shall  it  be  when  the  Son  of 
Man  Cometh." 

*W.  Kelly;  I^ectures  on  the  Pesktateuch. 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  31 

The  Spirit  of  God  was  then  pleading  with  men.  His 
work  as  the  hindering  one  is  indicated  in  verse  3, 

Read,  1  Peter  iii:18,  "For  Christ  indeed  once  suffered 
for  sins,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  He  might  bring 
us  to  God ;  being  put  to  death  in  flesh  but  made  ahve  in 
the  Spirit,  in  which  also  going  He  preached  to  the 
spirits,  which  are  in  prison,  heretofore  disobedient, 
when  the  long-suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of 
Noe,  while  the  ark  was  preparing."  This  passage  does 
not  teach  that  Christ  after  His  death,  went  into  Hades 
to  preach,  but  the  meaning  is  that  His  Spirit  through 
Noah  preached  to  the  spirits  of  men  living  at  that  time, 
and  who  were  then  disobedient  and  are  now  in  prison. 

God  in  His  long-suffering  waited  yet  120  years,  dur- 
ing which  His  Spirit  preached  through  the  preacher  of 
righteousness,  calling  to  Repentance. 

The  withdrawing  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  clearly 
taught  in  2  Thess.  ii:7.  This  age  will  end  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  age  before  the  Flood,  "the  Spirit  not 
always  pleading  with  man." 

Jehovah,  beholding  the  earth,  saw  that  the  wicked- 
ness of  man  was  great,  and  every  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  his  heart  only  evil  continually.  Before  we 
read  Jehovah's  verdict,  "for  he  indeed  is  flesh."  And 
again,  "The  end  of  all  flesh  is  come  before  me,  for  the 
earth  is  full  of  violence  through  them,  and  behold,  I 
will  destroy  them  with  the  earth." 

Part  IV. — The  Generations  of  Noah. 
Chapters  VI :  9— IX  :  29. 

CHAPTER  VI:9-22. 
Before  the  Flood. 

1.  Noah  Walked  with  God.     9-10. 

2.  The  Earth  Filled  with  Violence.     11-13. 

3.  The  Building  of  the  Ark  Commanded.     14-21, 

4.  Noah's  Obedience.     2P 


32  THE   BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

It  was  Grace  which  constituted  Noah  just  and  en- 
abled him  to  walk  with  God.  Hebrews  xi:7  gives  a  full 
definition  of  Noah's  faith.  Seven  things  are  shown  con- 
cerning Noah : 

Warned  of  God The  Ground  of  Faith. 

Things  Not  Seen The  Realm  of  Faith. 

He  Feared The  Exercise  of  Faith. 

Prepared  an  Ark The  Work  of  Faith. 

Saved  His  House _ The  Result  of  Faith. 

Condemned  the  World The  Testimony  of  Faith. 

Heir  of  Righteousness _ The  Reward  of  Faith. 

The  ark  is  a  type  of  Christ.  The  word  "gopher" 
means  atonement,  and  the  word  "pitch,"  meaning  the 
same,  is  translated  more  than  seventy  times  in  the 
Bible  by  "to  make  atonement." 

The  ark  had  a  window  above — looking  towards 
Heaven  and  not  upon  the  earth  and  its  judgment  be- 
neath. It  had  one  door  and  only  one  in  the  side.  All 
blessedly  applicable  to  Christ  and  salvation.  The  deluge 
which  came,  flood  of  waters,  covering  all,  so  that 
the  end  of  all  flesh  came,  is  a  type  of  the  death  of 
Christ.  In  His  death  judgment  was  passed  and  exe- 
cuted upon  all  flesh.  The  waves  and  billows  rolled  over 
His  innocent  head.  He  passed  through  death  and 
judgment  for  us  and  has  made  Himself  our  perfect 
ark,  our  hiding  place.  In  Him  we  are  lifted  above  the 
judgment  waters. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Noah  in  the  Ark.     The  Judgment  by  Water. 

1.  Commanded  to  Enter  the  Ark.     1-4. 

2.  Noah's  Obedience.     5-9. 

3.  The  Judgment  by  Water.     10-24. 

Noah  is  a  type  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  In  the  one,  Noah, 
his  house  was  saved.  He  carried  them  above  and 
through  the  judgment  waters.  Noah  is  also  a  type  of 
the  Jewish  remnant  which  will  pass  through  the  great 
tribulation  and  the  judgments  to  come. 

The  ark  of  gopher  wood,  pitched  inside  and  outside 


THE    BOOK    OF    G  EXES  IS.  ZZ 

^ith  pitch,  is  a  type  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  Noah 
preparing  the  ark,  the  type  of  Christ,  accomplishing 
salvation,  having  finished  it. 

The  deluge  is  a  type  of  the  death  of  Christ.  "All 
Thy  billows  and  Thy  waves  have  gone  over  Me" 
(Ps.  xlii:7).  This  was  done  when  on  the  cross.  He 
who  knew  no  sin  was  made  sin  for  us.  As  the  earth 
was  covered  in  the  deluge,  so  the  judgment  passed  over 
Him,  in  whom  the  end  of  all  flesh  has  come. 

"And  Jehovah  said  unto  Noah,  'Come  thou  and  all 
thy  house  into  the  ark.'  "  After  the  ark  was  finished 
came  the  invitation  to  enter  in.  The  invitation  "Come" 
still  goes  forth.  "Come  unto  Me" — will  it  last  for- 
ever? 

The  beasts,  clean  and  unclean,  taken  into  the  ark, 
as  well  as  the  fowls  of  the  air,  give  us  the  hint  that 
creation  will  share  the  blessed  effects  of  salvation.  The 
subsequent  prophetic  Word  and  Romans  viii:  19-23,  tell 
us  of  a  coming  deliverance  of  groaning  creation. 

"And  they  that  went  in  unto  Noah,  went  in  male  and 
female  of  all  flesh,  as  God  (Elohim)  had  commanded 
him,  and  the  Lord  (Jehovah)  shut  him  in"  (verse  16). 
In  this  verse  we  have  Elohim  and  Jehovah  used.  God, 
as  Creator,  had  commanded  Noah;  Jehovah  had  an- 
nounced the  judgment,  and  the  ark  which  had  been  pre- 
paring represented  the  patient  and  merciful  Jehovah. 
And  now  as  the  hour  of  mercy  was  past,  Jehovah  shut 
the  door.  He  who  had  given  an  open  door  shut  it  at 
last. 

Noah  and  his  house  in  the  ark  were  saved  and  safe. 
And  so  are  we  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

"The  rain  was  forty  days  and  forty  nights  upon  the 
earth"  (verse  12).  Here  for  the  first  time  in  the  Word 
do  we  find  the  number  forty.  It  is  not  the  last  time. 
Forty  means  endurance  and  testing.  Moses  was  forty 
days  on  the  mountain,  his  life  was  divided  into  three 


34  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS, 

forties.  Forty  years  Israel  was  in  the  wilderness, 
Elijah  knew  the  forty  days,  and  Ezekiel  lay  forty  days 
on  his  right  side,  a  typical  action  (Ez.  iv).  Jonah 
preached,  ''yet  forty  days  and  Niniveh  shall  be  de- 
stroyed;" and  Christ  was  forty  days  in  the  wilderness 
to  be  tested. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Noah,  Remembered. 

1.  Noah  Remembered.     1-3. 

2.  The  Ark  Resting.     4-5. 

3.  The  Raven  Sent  Forth.     6-7. 

4.  The  Sending  Forth  of  the  Dove.     8-12. 

5.  The  Waters  Dried  up.     12-14. 

6.  The  Command  to  Leave  the  Ark.     15-17. 

7.  Noah's  Obedience.     18-19. 

8.  The  Altar  and  the  Covenant.     20-22. 

Especially  instructive  are  verses  6  to  12  in  our  chap- 
ter. Noah  opened  the  window  at  the  end  of  forty  days, 
and  he  sent  forth  a  raven.  This  bird  flew  to  and  fro 
until  the  waters  were  dried  up  from  off  the  earth. 

Then  he  sent  forth  a  dove  three  times.  The  first 
time  she  found  no  resting  place,  and  Noah  took  her 
back  into  the  ark.  The  second  time  she  returned  with 
an  olive  leaf  in  her  mouth,  and  the  third  time  she  did 
not  return  at  all,  and  finds  her  abiding  place  in  the 
earth. 

That  the  dove  is  the  type  of  the  Holy  Spirit  needs 
hardly  to  be  stated.  In  this  outward  symbolic  form 
He  came  upon  our  Lord.  But  what  aoes  the  black  raven 
represent?  The  raven  is  the  type  of  evil,  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  god  of  this  age  and  the  flesh  as  well. 
We  may  see  in  the  raven  flying  to  and  fro  until  the 
waters  were  dried  up,  a  type  of  the  prince  of  the  power 
in  the  air,  the  devil.  His  work  and  activity  the  devil 
describes  himself  as  "going  to  and  fro  in  the  earth, 
and  walking  up  and  down  in  it"  (Job.  i:7;  and 
ii:2).  He  is  doing  this  still,  but  there  is  a  time  com- 
ing when  the  black  raven  will  stop  his  restless  flight. 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  35 

When  this  present  age  ends  with  Divine  wrath  re- 
vealed once  more,  and  the  waves  of  Divine  judgment 
have  rolled  over  the  earth,  then  Satan,  the  devil,  that 
old  serpent,  will  be  bound  a  thousand  years. 

The  dove  and  her  threefold  departure  is  a  type  of  the 
coming  and  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  earth 
sent  forth  from  the  Lord. 

First,  she  comes  forth  and  finds  no  resting  place. 
This  represents  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, where  he  was  not  present  in  the  earth  to  find 
a  rest,  to  abide.  The  second  departure  of  the  dove 
may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  presence  in 
this  age.  The  dove  found  a  resting  place  and  still  she 
did  not  stay,  but  came  back  to  the  ark  with  an  olive 
leaf.  This  olive  leaf  was  the  witness  that  the  judg- 
ment waters  had  passed  and  that  new  life  had  devel- 
oped. It  also  signifies  peace.  So  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
present  in  this  age  as  the  result  of  the  finished  work  of 
Christ.  The  third  time  the  dove  did  not  return.  So 
there  is  an  age  in  the  future  when  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
be  poured  upon  all  flesh.  During  the  first  and  second 
sending  forth  of  the  dove,  the  raven  was  also  present. 
Both  flew  over  the  earth.  When  the  dove  went  forth 
the  third  time  the  waters  were  gone  and  there  was  no 
more  raven. 

The  word  "altar"  is  mentioned  here  for  the  first  time 
in  the  Bible.  The  altar  is  for  worship.  Here  then  wor- 
ship is  for  the  first  time  revealed.  We  worship,  having 
passed  from  the  old  into  the  new,  standing  on  the 
ground  of  resurrection.  We  know  that  death  and  judg- 
ment is  passed,  and  therefore  we  worship  in  Spirit  and 
in  truth.  Christ  is  our  altar ;  and  in  the  sacrifices  Noah 
brought,  Christ  is  also  typically  represented.  Only  he 
is  a  true  worshiper  who  knows  Christ  and  the  perfect 
work  He  has  done.  "Jehovah  smelled  the  sweet  savor." 
This  reminds  us  of  John  iv:  "But  the  hour  cometh,  and 


26  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

now  is,  when  the  true  worshipers  shall  worship  the 
Father  in  Spirit  and  in  truth,  for  the  Father  seeketh 
such  to  worship  Him."  Not  service  is  a  sweet  savor 
to  God,  but  worship. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Earth  Replenished. 

1.  The  Divine  Commission.     1-7. 

2.  The  Covenant  with  Noah.     8-11. 

3.  The  Token  of  the  Covenant.     12-17. 

4.  The  Family  of  Noah,     18-19. 

5.  Noah's  Drunkenness.     20-24. 

6.  Noah's  Prophecy.     25-27. 

7.  Noah's  Death.     28-29. 

A  new  start  is  made  after  the  judgment  by  water 
and  Noah  is  blessed  by  God.  Like  Adam  and  Eve 
they  are  commissioned  to  fill  the  earth,  but  nothing 
is  said  of  having  dominion  over  the  earth. 

In  Genesis  i:29  we  read  that  man  was  to  eat  the 
green  herb  and  the  fruit  of  the  trees,  but  now  there 
is  permission  given  to  eat  every  moving  thing  that 
liveth.  It  seems  clear  that  before  the  deluge  meat 
was  not  eaten.  There  are  not  a  few  advocates  of  total 
abstinence  from  meat  in  our  day.  The  adherents  of 
delusions  like  Theosophy  and  others  tell  us  that  a. 
vegetable  diet  will  ennoble  man,  deliver  him  from  the 
lust  of  the  flesh,  make  him  pure  and  good  and  fit  to 
approach  God.  With  all  the  abstinence  from  meat  be- 
fore the  deluge  the  people  were  not  better,  but  ended 
in  the  flesh  and  perished  in  it.  In  2  Tim.  iv  we  read 
of  those  who  live  in  the  latter  times  and  depart  from. 
the  faith,  and  among  the  characteristics  given  is  the 
following:  "Forbidding  to  marry,  and  commanding 
to  abstain  from  meats  which  God  has  created  to  be 
received  with  thanksgiving  of  them  which  believe  and 
know  the  truth.  For  every  creature  of  God  is  good, 
and  nothing  to  be  refused,  if  it  be  received  with 
thanksgiving." 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  37 

And  why  is  the  blood  made  so  prominent?  Four 
times  we  read  the  word  "blood"  in  verses  4-6.  The 
book  of  Leviticus  gives  the  answer,  "For  the  life  of 
the  flesh  is  in  the  blood,  and  I  have  given  it  to  you 
upon  the  altar,  to  make  an  atonement  for  your  souls; 
for  it  is  the  blood  that  maketh  an  atonement  for  the 
soul"  (Lev.  xvii:ll).  The  sanctity  of  the  blood  is 
here  shown  forth.  Even  the  hunter  in  Israel  had  to 
keep  it  in  view.  "And  whatsoever  man  there  be  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  or  of  the  strangers  that  sojourn 
among  you  which  hunteth,  or  catcheth  any  beast  or 
fowl  that  may  be  eaten;  he  shall  even  pour  out  the 
blood  thereof,  and  cover  it  with  dust.  For  it  is  the 
life  of  all  flesh;  the  blood  of  it  is  for  the  life  thereof; 
therefore  I  said  to  the  children  of  Israel,  Ye  shall  eat 
the  blood  of  no  manner  of  flesh ;  for  the  life  of  all  flesh 
is  the  blood  thereof;  whosoever  eateth  it  shall  be  cut 
off"  (Lev.  xvii:13,  14).  So  the  hunter  had  to  stop,  and 
pour  out  the  blood.  All  points  to  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb. 

God  established  His  covenant  with  Noah  and  his 
seed  and  put  the  token  of  the  covenant  in  the  clouds. 
The  rainbow  speaks  of  a  passed  judgment  of  His  sal- 
vation and  remembrance. 

Another  universal  judgment  by  water  will  never 
come  again  (verse  15).  Another  judgment  is  in  store 
for  this  planet.  "The  world  that  was  then,  being 
overflowed  with  water,  perished;  but  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  which  are  now,  by  the  same  word  are  kept 
in  store,  reserved  unto  fire  against  the  day  of  judg- 
ment and  perdition  of  ungodly  men"  (2  Pet.  iii:6-7). 

Interesting  is  Noah's  Prophecy  after  his  drunken- 
ness. 

Ham  (black)  is  not  mentioned  in  the  curse,  but  the 
son  of  Ham,  Canaan  (the  merchantman).  Ham's  deed 
revealed  the  unbelieving  condition  of  his  heart,  while 


38  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

Shem's  and  Japheth's  action  manifest  divine  grace  in 
covering  up  the  nakedness.  God's  eye  beheld  Canaan 
and  his  subsequent  career  in  his  descendants.  He 
inherits  the  curse.  How  literally  it  was  carried  out! 
Shem,  meaning  "Name,"  becomes  the  family  in  which 
Jehovah,  the  Name,  is  to  be  revealed.  Jehovah  is  the 
God  of  Shem.  Soon  we  shall  see  a  son  of  Shem, 
Abram,  and  his  seed  becoming  the  depository  of 
Jehovah's  revelation.  Later  Jehovah  speaks  and  re- 
veals His  name  by  v/hich  He  wishes  to  be  known 
forever  to  another  son  of  Shem,  Moses.  "Thus  shalt 
thou  say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  Jehovah,  the  God 
of  your  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac 
and  the  God  of  Jacob  hath  sent  me  unto  you;  this  is 
my  name  forever,  and  this  is  my  memorial  unto  all 
generations"  (Ex.  iii:15).  He  does  not  call  Himself 
"the  God  of  Japheth"  but  "the  God  of  Shem."  Shem's 
supremacy  is  here  indicated.  It  is  a  far-reaching 
prophecy. 

Japheth  means  "expansion."  His  sons  are  Gomer, 
Magog,  Madai,  Javan,  Tubal,  Meshech,  Tiras,  and  the 
sons  of  Gomer  and  Javan  are  mentioned  in  the  next 
chapter.  They  expanded  and  Japheth  dwells  in  the 
tents  of  Shem,  partakes  of  Shem's  blessing  and  re- 
sponsibility. Some  take  "He  shall  dwell  in  the  tents 
of  Shem,"  the  "he"  as  referring  to  God,  but  this  is 
incorrect.  It  means  Japheth  and  reminds  us  of  the 
parable  of  the  olive  tree  in  Romans  xi. 

Shem's  blessing  consisted  (1)  In  being  the  carrier 
of  the  Name,  Jehovah.  (2)  In  controlling  Canaan  and 
being  the  master  over  him.  (3)  The  giving  shelter 
to  Japheth  and  let  him  be  sharer  of  the  blessing.  It 
is  the  germ  of  all  following  prophecy  and  we  wait  still 
for  its  end  fulfillment. 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  39 


Part  V. — The  Generations  of  the  Sons  of 
Noah. 

Chapter  X-XI:9. 

CHAPTER  X. 
Shem,  Ham  and  Japheth  and  Their  Seed. 

1.  The   Sons   of  Japheth.     2-5. 

2.  The  Sons  of  Ham.     6-20. 

3.  The  Sons  of  Shem.     21-32. 

Here  we  have  the  beginning  of  the  nations.  God 
Icnows  them  and  keeps  track  of  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  The  order  of  the  sons  of  Noah  is  here 
changed.  Japheth  comes  first.  Ham's  place  is  un- 
changed. Shem  comes  last.  This  order  is  given  in 
view  of  Noah's  prophecy.  Among  the  descendants  of 
Ham  we  find  Nimrod,  a  mighty  hunter.  His  name 
means  "Let  us  rebel."  Here  also  we  find  Babel  men- 
tioned for  the  first  time.  Babylon  has  for  its  founder 
"a  mighty  one  in  the  earth — a  mighty  hunter."  Men- 
tioned here  for  the  first  time  Babylon  is  seen  springing 
from  the  race  which  is  under  a  curse,  and  having  for 
its  founder  a  mighty  one  in  the  earth,  a  second  Cain. 
We  have  here  the  birth  of  Babylon,  while  the  entire 
Bible,  from  now  on  to  the  xviii  chapter  of  the  "Book 
of  the  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,"  gives  us  its  devel- 
opment, its  Satanic  opposition  to  all  that  is  from 
above,  and  its  final  great  fall  and  destruction.  Babylon ! 
what  a  sinister  word!  Both  city  and  system,  such  as 
is  seen  in  its  finality  in  Revel,  xvii  and  xviii,  are  Satan's 
stronghold. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  follow  all  these  names  and 
trace  them  in  the  Scriptures  and  in  history.  But  this 
^ve  cannot  do. 


40  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

CHAPTER  XI:l-9. 
The  Tower  of  Babel  and  the  Scattering  of  the  Nations. 

1.  The  Unity  of  the  Nations  in  Shinar.     1-2. 

2.  Their  Attempt:    "Let  us  make."     3-4. 

3.  The  Divine  Answer!    "Let  us  go  down."     5-7. 

4.  The  Result.     8-9. 

All  the  earth  had  one  language.  This  is  also  proven^ 
by  philological  research.  The  whole  human  family 
journeyed  together.  They  left  the  mountainous  re- 
gions and  went  down  to  the  plain.  This  expresses 
their  descent  morally;  they  turned  away  from  God, 
though  they  had  the  knowledge  of  God  (Rom.  i:18-19). 

Notice  the  absence  of  the  name  of  God  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  chapter.    They  had  excluded  Him.     'They 

said  let  us  make  and  they  had  

let  us  build  ourselves  let  us  make  ourselves  a. 

name."  It  is  self-exaltation  and  defiance   of  God.  It 
was  full  rebellion  against  God. 

The  tower  they  attempted  to  build  was  to  reach 
into  heaven.  It  is  the  first  concentrated  effort  of  man 
against  God  His  maker  and  against  Jehovah.  It  rep- 
resents a  God-defying  and  man-deifying  confederacy. 
We  cannot  follow  Babylon  in  its  different  aspects. 
There  was  the  ancient  city,  the  enemy  of  Jerusalem. 
There  is  the  present  day  Babylon,  a  lifeless,  professing 
Christendom,  both  Romanism  and  Protestantism. 
There  is  the  future  Babylon  (Rev.  xvii-xviii).  Con- 
centration and  confusion  marks  Babylon.  Compare 
the  "Let  us"  here  with  the  prophetic  Second  Psalm, 
when  in  the  future,  nations  will  confederate  against 
God  and  His  anointed.  God  came  dov/n  in  divine  irony 
to  look  at  their  city  and  tower  and  to  scatter  them  by 
the  confusion  of  languages.  And  when  the  rebellion 
of  the  Second  Psalm  is  reached.  He  will  laugh  and 
hold  them  in  derision. 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  41 


Part  VL — The  Generations  of  Shem. 

CHAPTER  XI:10-26. 
From  Shem  to  Terah. 

Here  again  we  find  10  names  prominent.  The  same 
number  we  have  in  Genesis  v.  Both  genealogies  in 
chapters  v  and  xi  end  with  a  man  to  whom  God  re- 
veals Himself  and  with  each  a  new  dispensation 
begins,  Noah  and  Abram,  Notice  the  decreasing  years 
of  life.  Shem  was  600  years  old,  the  grandfather  of 
Abram  only  148.  The  line  of  Shem  was  degenerating; 
some  of  the  names  indicate  this.  Terah  (Delay),  the 
father  of  Abram,  was  an  idolator.  The  descendants 
of  Shem  worshipped  idols  (Joshua  xxiv:2).  When  the 
line  of  Shem  had  failed  God  called  Abram. 


Part  VIL — The  Generations  of  Terah. 

Chapter  XI:27— XXV:11. 

CHAPTER  XI:27-32. 
Terah's  Family  and  his  Death. 

Terah  with  the  persons  mentioned  in  verse  31  went 
forth  from  her  to  go  into  the  land  of  Canaan.  Terah 
died  in  Haran.  Chapter  xii:l  and  Acts  vii:l-4  makes  it 
clear  that  this  going  forth  was  by  divine  revelation. 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  First  Events  in  Abram's  Life. 

1.  The  Call  and  the  Promise.     1-3. 

2.  Abram's  Obedience.     3-6. 

3.  The  Second  Communication  of  Jehovah.     7-9. 

4.  Abram  in  Egypt.     First  Denial  of  Sarai.     10-20. 

We  come  now  to  a  new  beginning,  the  Abrahamic 
covenant.    It  marks  the  beginning  of  that  wonderful 


42  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

race,  the  seed  of  Abraham,  the  people  of  Israel. 
Abraham's  name  is  mentioned  74  times  in  the  New 
Testament.  How  closely  his  history  is  interwoven  into 
New  Testament  doctrine.  This  may  be  learned  by 
consulting  the  following  passages:  John  viii:56;  Acts 
vii:2;  Rom.  iv:l-16;  Gal.  iii:6-18;  Heb.  xi:8-19;  James 
ii:21-23.  What  a  satanic  lie  it  is  to  brand  the  existence 
of  this  great  man  of  God  as  a  myth!  Such  is  often 
done  in  "Christian"  ( ?)  schools  and  pulpits.  We  give 
a  few  hints  on  this  chapter: 

The  Sovereign  Grace  of  God  in  the  call  of  Abram. 
Shem  had  the  promise  of  the  Name.  Jehovah  was  to 
reveal  Himself  in  Shem.  We  learned  from  the  eleventh 
chapter  that  the  line  of  Shem  had  run  into  decay  and 
was  departing  from  God.  In  the  midst  of  this  ruin 
in  which  Abram  was  involved,  he  became  the  object 
of  divine  election  and  Jehovah  in  His  Grace  manifested 
Himself  to  Abram  and  called  him. 

The  delay  at  Haran.  "The  God  of  Glory  appeared 
unto  our  father  Abraham,  when  he  was  in  Meso- 
potamia, before  he  dwelt  in  Charran."  "Then  came  he 
out  of  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans,  and  dwelt  at  Char- 
ran;  and  from  thence,  when  his  father  was  dead,  he 
removed  him  into  this  land,  wherein  ye  now  dwell" 
(Acts  viii:2-4).  The  call  came  to  Abraham  in  Meso- 
potamia. They  left  their  country  and  dwelt  in  Haran. 
Here  Abram  tarried  till  his  father  Terah  died.  The 
delay  in  going  to  the  land  to  which  God  had  called  him 
was  on  account  of  Terah.  Typically,  Terah  stands  for 
the  flesh,  the  ties  of  nature.  This  is  always  in  the 
way  to  carry  out  fully  the  call  of  God  and  enter  into 
full  and  blessed  realization  of  God's  calling.  While 
delaying  in  Haran  (Haran  means  "parched"),  God  did 
not  reveal  Himself  anew  to  Abram. 

Death  set  Abram  free,  and  by  death  freed  from  the 
ties  of  nature  he  journeyed  on  to  the  land  of  Canaan. 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  43 

The  death  of  Terah,  the  liberating  factor  in  Abram's 
experience,  is  typical  of  the  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  We  have  died  in  Him.  The  cross  of  Christ 
has  set  us  free. 

Abram  was  "sanctified  unto  obedience."  Sanctified 
means  "separated."  The  call  of  God  meant  separation 
for  Abram.  "Get  thee  out  of  thy  country  and  from 
thy  kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house."  Now  there 
was  no  further  delay.  "Abram  departed,  as  the  Lord 
had  spoken  to  him."  The  calling  involved  obedience 
which  was  readily  yielded.  All  this  is  typical  of  the 
individual  believer. 

It  was  by  Faith.  What  faith  is  stands  here  fully 
manifested.  "By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  called 
out  into  a  place  which  he  should  after  receive  for  an 
inheritance,  obeyed;  and  he  went  out,  not  knowing 
whither  he  went"  (Hebr.  xi:8).  He  took  God's  infall- 
lible  Word  and  left  all;  walked  by  faith  and  not  by 
sight;  he  hoped  for  things  he  saw  not.  Faith  ever 
finds  its  most  precious  resting  place  upon  the  naked 
Word  of  God. 

The  Promises.  "And  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great 
nation,  and  I  will  also  bless  thee  and  make  thy  name 
great;  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing.  And  I  will  bless 
them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee ; 
and  in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed" 
(verses  2  and  3).  And  all  God  promised  to  Abram 
He  hath  kept.  Every  word  has  been  literally  fulfilled. 
Nations  upon  nations  who  hated  Abraham's  seed,  his 
natural  descendants,  have  found  to  their  great  sorrow 
how  true  Abraham's  God  is.  These  promises  still  hold 
good.  To  the  seed  of  Abraham  belong  still  the  promises 
(Rom.  ix:4).  The  nations  of  the  earth,  all  the  families 
are  unconsciously  waiting  to  be  blessed  by  Abraham's 
seed.    Salvation  is  still  of  the  Jews. 

Abram  worships.'  He  built  an  altar  unto  Jehovah, 
who  appeared  unto  him.    Again  he  built  an  altar,  with 


44  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

Bethel  on  the  west  and  Ai  on  the  east,  and  there  he 
called  upon  the  name  of  Jehovah,  The  revelation  of 
Jehovah  produces  worship.  The  basis  of  worship  is  a 
conscious  and  precious  relation  with  Jehovah.  Abram 
knew  Jehovah's  grace  toward  him,  therefore  he  wor- 
shipped Him  and  called  upon  His  name. 

Abram's  failure  was  the  result  of  leaving  Bethel  and 
going  down  to  Egypt  (typical  of  the  world). 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  Return  from  Egypt.    Separation  from  Lot. 

1.  Back  to  Bethel.     1-4. 

2.  The  Strife.     5-7. 

3.  The  Separation.     Lot  in  Sodom.     8-13. 

4.  The   Third   Communication   of  Jehovah.     14-18. 

Abram  is  graciously  brought  back.  Abram  could 
not  have  remained  in  Egypt  forever.  So  the  believer 
who  has  wandered  away  from  the  Lord  will  be  restored. 
How  precious  the  altar  at  Bethel  must  have  been  to 
him.  Dispensationally  Abram's  going  down  to  Egypt 
foreshadows  the  going  down  of  his  posterity. 

Lot's  character  is  brought  out  in  his  selfish  choice. 
He  had  not  so  much  followed  the  Lord  as  he  followed 
Abram.  He  is  self -centered,  and  unlike  Abram  looking 
to  the  things  unseen,  he  is  occupied  with  the  things 
which  are  seen,  with  the  earth  and  earthly  possession. 
Lot  is  a  type  of  the  world-bordering,  carnally  minded, 
professing  Christian.  He  lifts  up  his  eyes  and  beholds 
a  well-watered  plain,  beautiful  as  the  garden  of  the 
Lord.  He  chooses  all  the  plain  of  Jordan  and  pitched 
his  tent  toward  Sodom.  That  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
were  fast  ripening  for  the  day  of  burning  and  destruc- 
tion, that  the  men  in  Sodom  were  wicked  and  sinners 
well  known  in  the  day  when  Lot  made  his  choice,  is 
not  taken  into  consideration  by  him.  There  was  no 
prayer,  no  consultation  with  the  Lord  from  the  side 
of  Lot.  His  eyes  behold  only  the  beautiful  and  well 
watered    plain;    there    must    have    been    a    feverish 


THE    BOOK    OF    GEi\ESIS.  45 

haste  to  make  his  decision.  Nor  did  Lot  go  at  once 
into  Sodom.  He  nears  Sodom  gradually.  Perhaps  at 
first  he  had  no  thought  of  having  fellowship  with  the 
wicked  men  of  Sodom,  but  he  got  there  all  the  same. 
All  is  written  for  our  learning.  Decline  begins  grad- 
ually, but  always  leads  into  the  world. 

And  Abram  gazed  too  over  the  fertile  plains.  Some 
time  after  he  looked  again.  'And  he  looked  toward 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  toward  all  the  land  of  the 
plain,  and  beheld,  and  lo,  the  smoke  of  the  country 
went  up  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace"  (xix:28).  Was 
Abram  sorry  then  for  his  choice?  Do  not  look  upon 
the  fairness  of  the  world;  remember  a  little  while 
longer  and  wrath  and  judgment  will  be  poured  upon 
the  world  now  under  condemnation. 

Another  communication  and  promise  is  received  by 
Abram  from  Jehovah. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
The  First  Recorded  War.     Lot's  Deliverance. 

1,  The  Battle  of  the  Confederacy.     1-10. 

2.  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  spoiled.     11-13. 
o.  Abram's  Rescue.     14-16. 

4.  Sodom's  King  to  meet  Abram.     17. 

5.  Melchizedek.     18-20. 

6.  The  King's  Offer  and  Abram's  Answer.     21-24. 

The  record  of  the  first  war  is  here  foreshadowing 
the  last  great  warfare  still  to  come.  Amraphel,  King 
of  Shinar,  has  been  historically  located  by  excavated 
tablets  in  1901.  The  code  of  Amraphel  (Kham- 
murabi)  was  discovered  in  Susa.  It  dates  back  to 
2139  B.  C.  Some  800  years  the  laws  of  Amraphel 
governed  the  people  of  Central  Asia.  The  discovery 
of  this  code  was  a  severe  blow  to  Higher  Criticism 
Avhich  claimed  that  writing  before  Moses  was  unknown. 
What  interests  us  most  is  Melchizedek.  He  is  men- 
tioned as  a  type  of  Christ  in  Psalm  ex  and  Hebrews 


46  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

vii.  This  chapter  in  Hebrews  must  be  read  with 
Genesis  xiv. 

Melchizedek  was  a  human  being.  We  do  not  beUeve 
that  he  was  a  supernatural  being  manifested  in  the 
form  of  man.  He  was  King  of  Peace  and  King  of 
Righteousness  and  Priest  as  well,  uniting  the  office 
of  Priest  and  King  and  Prophet  in  himself.  The  way 
he  is  introduced  in  this  first  book,  where  genealogies 
abound,  without  descent,  having  in  this  sense  neither 
beginning  of  days  nor  end  of  life  (Heb.  vii:3),  makes 
him  a  very  strong  type  of  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 

Like  Melchizedek,  Christ  unites  in  His  person  King- 
ship and  Priesthood.  However,  though  Christ  is  a 
priest  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek,  He  does  not  yet 
fully  exercise  His  Melchizedek  priesthood.  As  priest 
after  the  order  of  Melchizedek  He  must  have  His  own 
throne,  for  which  He  is  still  waiting  on  the  throne  of 
His  Father. 

Therefore  when  He  comes  again  He  will  be  the 
Priest  upon  His  throne  and  crowned  with  many 
crowns  (Zech.  vi:  12-14). 

The  sinister  temptation  of  Sodom's  King  was  re- 
jected by  Abram  because  Melchizedek  had  made 
known  the  Name  of  God  in  a  new  way  "The  most  high 
God."  Abraham  uses  this  new  title  and  adds  "Je- 
hovah" to  "the  most  high  God." 

Dispensationally  it  shows  the  future  events  after  the 
conflict,  the  time  of  wars  by  confederacies  of  nations,, 
in  which  the  seed  of  Abraham  will  be  so  much  con- 
cerned, when  the  enemies  of  God  and  of  Israel  will  be 
overcome,  and  the  King  of  Peace,  the  King  of  Right- 
eousness, the  great  Priest,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  will 
appear  to  bless  His  earthly  people.  Then  Israel  will 
acknowledge  Him  as  Abram  did  Melchizedek.  "The 
Most  High  God,"  is  one  of  God's  millennial  names. 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  47 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Fourth  Communication.     The  Covenant  and  the  Vision. 

1.  The  Fourth  Communication.     1. 

2.  Abram's  Answer.     2-3. 

3.  The  Promised  Seed.     4-5. 

4.  Abram  Constitute  Righteous.     6. 

5.  Continued  Communication.     7-8. 

6.  The  Divided  Animals.     9-11. 

7.  The  Vision.     12-17. 

8.  The  Covenant  Made.    .18-21. 

The  connection  with  the  previous  chapter  is  ex- 
tremely precious.  Abram  had  honored  the  Lord  and 
now  the  Lord  honored  him.  Then  the  seed  is  promised. 
That  seed  promised  is  Isaac ;  Christ  is  typified  by  him.. 
"Abram  believed  in  the  Lord  and  He  counted  it  to  him 
for  righteousness."  The  fourth  chapter  of  Romans 
must  be  closely  studied  at  this  point  for  it  is  the  com- 
mentary to  the  promise  given  and  Abram's  faith.  He 
is  commanded  to  take  the  different  animals  and  to 
divide  them. 

All  these  animals  are  mentioned  later  in  the  book  of 
Leviticus  and  as  sacrifices  are  typical  of  Christ,  while 
the  fowls  which  came  down  upon  the  carcasses  and 
which  Abraham  drove  away  (Gen.  xv:ll)  are  types 
of  evil.  (See  Matthew  xiii,  the  birds  which  pick  up> 
the  seed;  the  fowls  which  make  nests  in  the  tree.) 
But  the  divided  pieces  and  the  turtledove  and  pigeon, 
exposed  to  the  fowls,  are  also  typical  of  Israel,  divided 
and  cut  through,  while  the  fowls  may  be  taken  as 
types  of  nations  who  feast  upon  Israel.  The  deep  sleep 
which  fell  upon  Abraham,  signifying  death,  and  the 
horror  of  a  great  darkness,  are  likewise  types  of  what 
was  to  come  upon  the  seed  of  Abraham.  After  God 
had  spoken  of  the  coming  affliction  of  the  children  of 
Abraham  and  announcing  the  judgment  of  their 
troubles,  a  smoking  furnace  and  a  burning  lamp 
passed  between  the  pieces.    The  smoking  furnace,  the 


48  THE   BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

spectacle  of  a  fire  and  the  dark  smoke  from  it,  showed 
to  the  eye,  what  God  had  spoken  to  the  heart  of  His 
servant.  The  smoking  furnace  is  the  type  of  Egypt 
and  the  tribulation  through  which  the  sons  of  Jacob 
and  their  seed  had  to  pass.  The  burning  lamp  is  the 
ttype  of  God's  presence  with  them.  Thus  we  read: 
"But  the  Lord  hath  taken  you  and  brought  you  forth 
-out  of  the  iron  furnace,  out  of  Egypt  to  be  unto  Him 
a  people  of  inheritance,  as  ye  are  this  day"  (Deut. 
iv:20;  1  Kings  viii:51).  In  Egypt  the  fire  burned,  as 
in  the  furnace,  and  the  great  darkness  settled  upon 
Abraham's  seed. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Abraham  and  Hagar. 

1.  Sarai's  Suggestion.     1-3. 

2.  Abram's  Action.     4. 

3.  Sarai  and  Hagar.     5-6. 

4.  Hagar  in  the  Wilderness.     7-9. 

5.  The  Birth  of  Ishmael  Announced.     10-14. 
<6.  Ishmael  Born.     15-16. 

The  fifteenth  chapter  may  be  called  Abram's  faith 
chapter.  The  sixteenth  is  the  chapter  of  unbelief.  It 
was  impatience  which  forced  Sarai  and  Abram  to  act 
for  themselves.  Unbelief  is  impatience  and  impa- 
tience is  unbelief.  Faith  waits  patiently  for  the  Lord, 
and  on  the  Lord,  to  act.  "He  that  believeth  shall  not 
make  haste."  Abram  and  Sarai  attempted  to  help 
the  Lord  to  fulfill  His  promise.  What  a  failure  they 
made  of  it!  On  account  of  it  there  was  great  trouble 
in  his  house. 

But  the  incident  has  a  deeper  meaning.  Read  Galat. 
iv:21-31.  This  gives  us  the  typical  meaning  and  how 
the  Lord  overruled  even  this  failure.  Sarai  represents 
the  Covenant  of  Grace;  Hagar  the  Law  Covenant. 
Hagar  was  an  Egyptian;  Sarai  a  Princess.  The  law 
brings  into  bondage,  Grace  makes  free. 

Abram  was  eighty-six  years  old  when  Ishmael  was 
born.     The  next  chapter  tells  us  that   Abram  was 


THE   BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  49 

ninety  and  nine  years  old  when  the  Lord  spoke  to  him 
again.  Thus  for  thirteen  years  Abram's  life  seems  to 
have  been  barren  of  communications  from  the  Lord. 
What  a  harvest  of  the  flesh. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The    Fifth    Communication.    The    Covenant    Repeated. 

1.  The  Communication.     Abram  Worships.     1-3. 

2.  The  Enlarged  Promise.     4-8. 

3.  The  Covenant  Sign.     9-14. 

4.  Sarah's  Seed  Promised.     15-16. 

5.  The  Laughter  of  Abraham.     17. 

6.  Abraham's  plea  for  Ishmael.     18-22. 

7.  Abraham's  Obedience.     23-27. 

The  promises  which  the  Lord  now  gives  to  Abram 
are  most  complete.  His  name  is  changed;  he  is  now 
to  be  called  Abraham,  which  means  "the  Father  of 
many/'  because  he  is  to  be  the  Father  of  many 
nations. 

Upon  this  follows  the  institution  of  circumcision. 
This  is  a  portion  which  is  extremely  rich  in  its  teach- 
ings. Let  us  notice  that  in  Romans  the  Holy  Spirit 
explains  the  meaning  of  this  ceremony.  "For  we  say 
that  faith  was  reckoned  to  Abraham  for  righteous- 
ness. How  was  it  then  reckoned?  when  he  was  in 
circumcision,  or  in  uncircumcision  ?  Not  in  circumci- 
sion, but  in  uncircumcision.  And  he  received  the  sign 
of  circumcision,  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith 
which  he  had  yet  being  uncircumcised  .  .  .  ." 
(Rom.  iv:10,  11).  Circumcision  was,  therefore,  the 
seal  of  righteousness  of  faith.  Some  fourteen  years 
previous  Abram  had  been  constituted  righteous,  be- 
cause he  believed  God,  and  it  was  counted  unto  him 
for  righteousness.  First  Righteousness  by  faith  and 
then  the  seal.  Of  believers  it  is  said  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment that  they  are  circumcised.  "In  whom  also  ye  are 
circumcised  with  the  circumcision  made  without  hands 


50  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

in  putting  off  the  body  of  the  flesh  by  the  circumcision 
of  Christ"  (Col.  ii:ll).  The  circumcision  of  Christ  is 
the  death  of  Christ;  in  Him  the  body  of  the  flesh  is 
put  off.  We  have  died  with  Him,  are  dead  and  buried 
and  risen  with  Him.  "For  we  are  the  circumcision, 
which  worship  God  in  the  spirit  and  rejoice  in  Christ 
Jesus  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh"  (Phil.  iii:3). 
Sarai's  name  is  also  changed.  The  promised  seed  is 
to  be  from  her.  "His  name  is  to  be  Isaac"  whicli 
means  laughter.  The  end  of  the  chapter  shows  Abra- 
ham's obedience. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
The  Sixth   Communication.     Jehovah  Visits  Abraham.. 

1.  The  Manifestation.     1-2. 

2.  Abraham's  Welcome.     3-8. 

3.  The  Promise  Repeated.     9-10. 

4.  Sarah's  Laughter.     11-15. 

0.  The  Departure  Towards  Sodom.     16. 
6.  Abraham's  Intercession.     17-33. 

This  most  remarkable  visitation  was  the  answer  o± 
Jehovah  to  Abraham's  obedience  of  faith.  The  one  in 
the  middle  was  none  other  than  Jehovah  in  human, 
form;  the  other  two  were  angels.  "Before  Abraham 
was  I  am,"  He  said  when  on  earth.  Here  Abraham  is 
face  to  face  with  Him. 

Sarah's  laughter  when  the  son  is  promised  to  her 
is  the  laughter  of  unbelief.  She  looked  to  her  womb, 
which  was  a  grave.  Her  laughter  was  made  the  occa- 
sion of  that  blessed  word  Jehovah  spoke.  "Is  any- 
thing too  hard  for  the  Lord?"  From  the  place  of 
sweet  communion  they  now  proceed  towards  the  scene 
where  a  great  judgment  was  to  be  enacted. 

"Shall  I  hide  from  Abraham  that  thing  which  I  do  ?" 
is  another  gracious  word.  Abraham  was  the  friend  of 
God.  The  Lord  said  to  His  disciples,  "The  servant 
knoweth  not  what  his  Lord  doeth,  but  I  have  called" 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  51 

you  friends;  for  all  things  that  I  have  heard  of  My 
Pather  I  have  made  known  unto  you"  (John  xv) .  Yes, 
He  has  told  us  all  about  the  things  to  come,  the  doom 
of  the  world  and  the  secrets  of  His  coming.  And  then 
follows  that  wonderful  intercession  before  the  Lord. 
How  he  pleads!  What  humility  and  yet  boldness! 
Elessed  privilege  of  all  saints  the  prayer  of  interces- 
sion, which  the  great  Intercessor,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  loves  to  hear  from  the  lips  of  His  children,  for 
it  is  the  echo  of  His  own  heavenly  occupation. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 
The  Destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 

1.  The  Angels  Visit.     1-5. 

2.  Lot  and  the  Sodomites.     6-11. 

3.  The  Destruction  of  Sodom  Announced.     12-13. 

4.  Lot  and  his  Sons-in-law.     14. 

5.  Lot  Brought  Forth.     15-17. 

6.  Lot's  Request.     18-20. 

7.  The  Escape.     21-25. 

8.  Lot's  Wife.     26. 

9.  Abraham  Looks  on.     27-29. 
10.  Lot's  Shame.     30-38. 

This  is  a  chapter  of  judgment.  How  great  the  con- 
trast with  the  preceding  one!  There  Abraham  sat 
under  the  tent  door  and  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him; 
here  two  angels  come  to  Sodom  at  even  and  Lot  sits 
in  the  gate  of  Sodom.  Joyfully  Abraham  had  run  to 
meet  the  heavenly  visitors  and  willing  the  Lord  and 
His  companion  had  entered  in  to  be  comforted  by 
Abraham.  Lot  invites  the  angels  likewise  but  they 
said  "Nay;  but  we  will  abide  in  the  street  all  night." 
Only  after  Lot  pressed  upon  them  greatly  "did  they 
•enter  his  house."  The  feast  was  not  like  Abraham's 
feast  of  fine  meal  and  a  calf,  but  only  unleavened 
iDread.  Poor,  selfish  Lot!  He  had  gone  down  to 
Sodom;  from  the  tent  pitched  toward  Sodom  he  had 


52  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

landed  in  Sodom  and  there  he  had  no  longer  a  tent, 
but  he  had  a  house.  He  had  settled  down  and  given 
up  his  character  as  pilgrim.  His  daughters  had  be- 
come perfectly  at  home  in  Sodom  and  married 
unbelieving  Sodomites.  More  than  that  Lot  had  taken 
a  position  in  Sodom.  "He  sat  in  the  gate  of  Sodom" 
and  the  mob  said  "This  fellow  came  into  sojourn  and 
he  will  be  judge"  (verse  9).  He  held  an  influential 
position  there  and  most  likely  attempted  the  reforma- 
tion of  Sodom.  That  he  was  greatly  troubled  is  learned 

from  the  New  Testament "he  was  vexed  with  the 

filthy  conversation  of  the  wicked"  (2  Peter  ii:7).  Lot 
is  the  picture  of  thousands  of  Christian  believers,  who 
are  carnally  minded  and  worldly.  There  are  many  who 
have  settled  down  in  the  world,  from  which  they  have 
been  separated  and  delivered  by  the  death  of  Christ 
and  like  Lot  they  will  be  saved  "so  as  by  fire." 

From  the  fourth  verse  to  the  eleventh  in  this  chap- 
ter we  find  a  short  description  of  the  awful  wickedness 
of  Sodom.  Its  gross  immoralities,  the  fearful  fruits  of 
the  lust  of  the  flesh  have  since  then  become  proverbial. 
In  this  connection  we  may  well  remember  the  words  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "Likewise  also  as  it  was  in  the 

days  of  Lot even  thus  shall  it  be  in  the  day  when 

the  Son  of  Man  cometh"  (Luke  xvii:28-30).  This 
Christian  age  will  not  end  in  universal  righteousness; 
it  will  end  in  apostasy  from  God  and  His  Word,  in 
iniquity  and  lawlessness,  and  these  will  be  followed  by 
a  fiery  judgment.  Indications  of  such  an  ending  of 
this  age  of  boasted  progress  are  numerous  and  be- 
coming more  pronounced.  Among  these  immoralities, 
the  looseness  of  the  marriage  ties,  and  adulteries  are 
prominently  in  the  lead.  The  great  cities  of  Christen- 
dom are  modern  Sodoms  and  the  immorality  in  them 
is  perhaps  worse  than  in  the  ancient,  lewd  cities  of 
the  valley  of  Jordan.  This  will  be  getting  worse  and 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  53 

worse  and  the  end  will  be  judgment.  And  now  the 
angels  give  the  message  of  the  impending  judgment. 
Sodom  was  to  be  destroyed  by  fire.  Lot  believed  the 
message,  but  when  he  had  spoken  the  word  to  his 
two  sons-in-law,  "Up  get  you  out  of  this  place; 
for  the  Lord  will  destroy  this  city,"  they  took  it  as 
a  joke  and  believed  not.  They. might  have  been  saved 
if  they  had  believed.  They  perished  in  Sodom.  Even 
so  it  is  now  at  the  end  of  this  age.  "Knowing  this  first, 
that  there  shall  come  in  the  last  days  scoffers,  walking 
after  their  own  lusts,  and  saying,  Where  is  the  promise 
of  His  coming?"  (2  Pet.  iii:3,  4).  If  one  preaches  and 
teaches  the  soon  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to 
be  revealed  from  heaven  with  His  mighty  angels  in 
flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not 
God,  and  that  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  (2 
Thess.  i:7,  8),  he  is  laughed  at  and  scorned,  called  a 
pessimist.  Perhaps  the  two  sons-in-law  called  Lot  a 
pessimist. 

Notice  Verse  24.  "Then  Jehovah  rained  upon  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  brimstone  and  fire  from  Jehovah  out  of 
heaven."  Here  was  a  Jehovah  on  earth  and  He  called 
to  Jehovah  in  Heaven. 

Lot's  history  ends  in  shame.  Moab  and  Ammon  be- 
gotten in  wickedness  have  a  history  of  shame.  No 
record  is  given  of  the  death  of  Lot. 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Abraham  in  Gerar. 

1.  Abraham  in  Gerar.     1. 

2.  Second  Denial  of  Sarah.     2. 

3.  God's  Dealing  with  Abimelech.     3-7. 

4.  Abimelech  and  Abraham.     8-18. 

Note  Abraham's  going  down  to  Egypt  in  Chapter 
Xn  and  now  going  to  Gerar  and  denying  again  Sarah. 

In  chapter  XXVI  Isaac  goes  also  to  Gerar  and  denies 
Rebekah.    It  shows  what  the  flesh  is. 


54  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

But  Abraham  is  greatly  honored  by  the  Lord.  The 
Lord  called  him  a  prophet.  Abraham  prayed  and  God 
healed  Abimelech. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Isaac  and  Ishmael.     The  Covenant  with  Abimelech. 

1.  Isaac's  Birth.     1. 

2.  His  Circumcision.  4-8. 

3.  Ishmael  Mocking.  9. 

4.  Sarah's  Demand.  10-11. 

6.  God  Speaks  to  Abraham.     12-13. 

6.  Hagar  and  Ishmael  Cast  out.     14-16. 

7.  The  Intervention  of  God.     17-21. 

8.  The  Covenant  with  Abimelech.     22-34. 

Isaac,  the  promised  Seed,  was  born  at  the  set  time 
as  God  had  spoken. 

As  there  was  a  set  time  when  the  promised  Son  was 
born  to  Abraham,  so  there  was  an  appointed  time 
when  God  gave  His  Son  "when  the  fulness  of  time  was 
come,  God  sent  forth  His  Son."  There  is  also  a  set 
time,  when  the  First  begotten  will  be  brought  into  the 
world  again.  His  second  Coming.  Then  it  will  be  the 
set  time  for  Israel,  too,  when  God  remembers  His 
promises  and  when  He  visits  and  does  all,  what  He 
has  spoken  concerning  them.  "Thou  shalt  arise  and 
have  mercy  on  Zion;  for  the  time  to  favor  her,  yea, 
the  set  time  is  come"  (Psalm  cii:13). 

Isaac's  name  means  laughter,  the  laughter  of  God  in 
view  of  man's  helplessness.  Isaac  the  promised  one, 
the  only  one,  in  his  wonderful  birth  and  in  his  name 
is  a  type  of  the  promised  seed,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
He  is  God's  laughter  over  Satan,  Sin  and  Death. 

Sarah  laughed  again,  but  it  is  the  laughter  of  joy. 
The  word  the  Lord  spoke  to  her:  "Is  anything 
too  hard  for  the  Lord?"  wrought  faith  in  her  heart. 
"Through  faith  also  Sarah  herself  received  strength 
to  conceive  seed,  and  was  delivered  of  a  child  when 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  55 

she  was  past  age,  because  she  judged  Him  faithful 
who  had  promised"  (Heb.  xi:ii).  We  have  called  at- 
tention before  to  the  allegory  in  Gal.  iv:21-31.  This 
passage  gives  meaning  to  the  historical  account.  Sarah 
stands  for  the  Grace  Covenant;  Hagar  for  the  Law 
covenant.  As  soon  as  the  Seed  came  (Christ)  the  Law 
was  cast  out.  The  Law  was  only  the  schoolmaster 
till  Christ  came.  Hagar's  son  also  typifies  the  flesh. 
Isaac  is  typical  of  the  nature  which  Grace  bestows. 

No  sooner  was  Isaac  weaned  and  a  great  feast  made 
than  the  son  of  Hagar,  the  Egyptian,  mocked.  Ishmael 
manifests  his  true  character.  As  long  as  there  was  no 
Isaac,  nothing  is  heard  of  Ishmael;  the  presence  of 
Isaac  makes  known  what  was  in  the  son  of  the  bond- 
woman. The  presence  of  the  new  nature  makes  known 
what  the  flesh  really  is  and  it  is  fulfilled  what  is  writ- 
ten "The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit  and  the  Spirit 
against  the  flesh." 

Here  we  have  also  a  dispensational  picture.  Accord- 
ing to  the  passage  in  Galatians  Hagar  corresponds  to 
Jerusalem  which  is  now,  the  one  who  is  in  bondage  with 
her  children.  As  Hagar  wandered  in  the  wilderness 
so  the  natural  descendants  of  Abraham  have  become 
wanderers.  It  is  on  account  of  that  "covenant  of 
Grace"  that  rich  Grace  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which 
they  rejected  that  they  are  cast  out.  But  they  are  like 
Hagar  in  the  wilderness  of  "Beer-sheba,"  which  means 
translated,  "Well  of  the  oath,"  reminding  us  of  the  oath 
of  God  and  His  gifts  and  calling,  which  are  without  re- 
pentance. Like  Hagar's  eyes  their  eyes  are  blinded 
and  they  see  not  the  "well  of  water"  which  is  for  them. 
A  time,  however,  will  come  when  their  eyes  will  be 
opened  and  when  they  shall  draw  water  out  of  the 
wells  of  salvation  (Isaiah  xii:3).  The  rest  of  the 
chapter  is  taken  up  with  the  record  of  the  covenant, 
which  Abimelech  made  with  Abraham.  He,  who  had 
been  healed  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  Abraham,  now 


56  THE   BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

acknowledges  openly  that  God  is  with  his  servant.  This 
shows  the  faithfulness  of  God  to  His  promises.  Abra- 
ham is  blest  and  is  a  blessing.  In  the  Grove  of  Beer- 
sheba  he  called  on  the  name  of  Jehovah,  the  everlast- 
ing God. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
The  Testing  of  Abraham. 

1.  God's  Command,     v.  1. 

2.  Abraham's  Obedience.     3-6. 

3.  Isaac's  Question  and  Abraham's  Answer.     7-8. 

4.  Isaac  upon  the  Altar.     9-10. 

5.  The  Interference  from  Above.     11-12. 

6.  Jehovah-Jireh.     13-14. 

7.  The  Second  Message  and  Abraham's  Return.     15-19. 

8.  Nahor's  Offspring.     20-24. 

God  now  tested  Abraham.  True  faith  has  to  be- 
tested ;  it  is  an  evidence  that  there  is  faith  when  tests 
come  upon  the  believer.  God  knew  Abraham,  and 
when  the  proper  moment  had  come  in  his  life,  God 
spake  the  words  to  him  by  which  he  was  to  be  tested. 
What  a  test  it  was !  That  promised  son,  that  beloved- 
one  to  take  him  and  to  slay  him  upon  an  altar !  Reason, 
might  have  said,  God  promised  this  son,  he  was  given 
by  God's  own  power,  all  my  hope  and  expectation  cen- 
ter in  him;  how  can  God  demand  him  to  be  slain? 
But  faith  does  not  question  God's  Word,  and  has  no^ 
''why?"  to  ask  of  God.  Such  faith  was  manifested  by 
Abraham  when  in  the  beginning  God  told  him  to  go- 
out  of  his  land,  to  a  land  that  He  would  show  him. 
He  went  out  in  faith  and  knew  not  whither  he  went. 
But  God  brought  him  to  the  land.  He  knew  God's, 
faithfulness.  And  now  once  more  he  is  asked  to  go- 
out,  to  the  land  of  Moriah  to  an  unknown  mountain,, 
and  to  take  his  beloved  son  along  to  give  him  up. 
Was  his  heart  really  all  for  God?  Does  he  love  Him 
and  depend  on  Him  supremely?  Would  he  be  willing^ 
to  part  with  the  only  one  and  give  him  up?  This  is. 
the  test.  The  record  shows  there  was  not  a  moment's 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  57 

hesitation  on  Abraham's  side.  No  word  escaped  from 
his  lips.  The  only  answer  which  he  gave  to  God 
was  that  he  rose  up  early  in  the  morning  and  began  at 
once  the  journey  with  Isaac.  What  an  obedience  it 
was! 

What  a  word  of  faith  it  was  when  he  said,  "Abide 
ye  here  with  the  ass,  and  I  and  the  lad  will  go  yonder 
and  worship  and  come  again  to  you."  Hebrews  xi:17- 
19  gives  us  the  secret  of  it. 

We  behold  them  going  together,  Isaac  now  carrying 
the  wood.  Abraham  laid  the  wood  upon  him.  An. 
old  Hebrew  exposition  of  Genesis  paraphrases  this  by 
saying  "he  laid  the  wood  upon  him  in  the  form  of  a 
cross."  And  only  once  does  Isaac  speak  asking  for  the 
lamb.  To  which  Abraham  replied,  "My  son,  God  Him- 
self will  provide  a  lamb  for  a  burnt  offering."  Then 
they  go  together,  and  Isaac  opened  not  his  mouth  again 
"like  a  lamb  led  to  slaughter."  He  allows  himself  to 
be  bound  upon  the  altar.  He  had  absolute  confidence 
in  his  father  and  is  willing  to  be  slain  by  him;  there 
was  no  struggle  to  be  free.  He  is  obedient  to  his 
father  Abraham,  even  obedient  unto  death.  The  typi- 
cal meaning  of  the  event  is  as  simple  as  it  is  precious. 
Isaac  is  the  type  of  that  "Only  Begotten."  In  Abra- 
ham we  behold  "The  Father,"  who  spared  not  His  only 
begotten  Son,  but  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all.  But 
how  great  the  contrast !  God  gave  Him,  the  Son  of  His 
love  for  a  sinful,  rebellious  world.  And  when  the  hour 
came  and  the  Son  was  nailed  upon  the  wood  there  was 
no  hand  to  stay.  He  was  led  to  slaughter  like  a  lamb 
and  opened  not  His  mouth ;  and  then  we  hear  Him  cry, 
"My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me?" 
God's  hand  was  upon  Him  and  He,  the  Holy  One,  was 
smitten  by  God.  This  is  the  lamb  God  himself  has 
provided ;  "the  ransom"  He  has  found,  typified  also  by 
the  ram  caught  in  the  thicket.    And  in  the  angel  of 


58  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

Jehovah,  He  Himself  was  present  upon  the  scene, 
knowing  all  that  which  He  would  do  and  suffer,  when 
the  appointed  time  had  come.  How  wonderful  is  His 
written  Word !  And  we  touch  in  these  brief  notes  but 
a  little  of  the  foreshadowings  and  truths  revealed  in 
this  chapter.  The  binding  of  Isaac  upon  the  altar  and 
the  taking  from  the  altar  foreshadow  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  Christ. 

"Jehovah-jireh,'*  the  Lord  has  seen,  is  the  great 
foundation.  From  that  provision,  the  gift  of  His  Son 
and  His  obedience  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the 
cross,  flows  forth  the  great  redemption :  Jehovah-roph- 
ecah  (Exodus  xv:26),  the  Lord  thy  healer,  is  next. 
Then  follow  Jehovah  nissi,  the  Lord  my  banner,  (vic- 
tory Exod.  xvii) ;  Jehovah  Shalom,  Jehovah  is  peace 
(Judges  vi  :24) ;  Jehovah  roi,  Jehovah,  my  shepherd 
(Psa.  xxiiirl);  Jehovah  Zidkenu,  Jehovah  our  right- 
eousness (Jerem.  xxiii:5,  6);  Jehovah  Shamma, 
Jehovah  is  there  (Ez.  xlviii:35). 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  Death  of  Sarah. 

1.  Sarah  Dies.     1-2. 

2.  The  Grave  Obtained.     3-18. 

3.  The  Burial  of  Sarah.     19-20. 

We  call  the  attention  to  the  typical  meaning  of  the 
■death  of  Sarah. 

She  is  the  type  of  the  nation  Israel  and  her  death  in 
this  chapter  signifies  the  death  of  Israel,  nationally. 
This  must  be  brought  in  connection  with  the  previous 
chapter.  There  we  learned  that  Isaac  was  upon  the 
altar  and  taken  from  it.  This  is  typical  of  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  the  true  Isaac,  the  promised  One, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Immediately  after,  Sarah  dies, 
the  one  from  whom  Isaac  came.  And  so  after  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  had  died  and  was  raised  from  the  dead, 
the  nation  from  whom  He  came,  according  to  the  flesh, 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS.  5S^ 

passes  off  the  scene.  Israel,  like  Sarah,  is  buried  in  the 
midst  of  the  children  of  Heth,  that  is  the  Gentiles. 
But  Israel  has  the  promise  of  restoration  typified  by 
resurrection.  God  has  promised  to  open  the  national 
grave  of  Israel  and  bring  them  back  to  the  land,  which 
He  has  given  to  the  seed  of  Abraham  forever.  This 
typical  application  becomes  still  more  striking  and 
irrefutable  by  what  follows  in  the  twenty-fourth  chap- 
ter. Here  we  find  the  call  of  the  Bride  who  is  to  com- 
fort Isaac,  after  his  mother's  death. 

It  is  interesting  that  Sarah  is  the  only  woman, 
whose  age  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

The  Bride  Sought  for  Isaac. 

1.  The  Commission  to  the  Servant.     1-9. 

2.  The  Obedience  and  Prayer  of  the  Servant.     10-14. 

3.  The  Prayer  Answered.     15-21. 

4.  The  Gifts  of  the  Servant.     22-26. 

5.  The  Servant  Received.     27-33. 

6.  The  Servant's  Message.     34-36. 

7.  The  Commission  and  Answered  Prayer  Stated.     37-49. 

8.  The  Bride  Chosen.     50-60. 

9.  The  Journey  to  meet  Isaac.     61. 

10.  The  Meeting  and  the  Marriage.     62-67. 

This  is  one  of  the  longest  chapters  in  the  Bible.  The 
connection  with  the  previous  chapters  is  obvious.  All 
has  a  typical  meaning.  The  promised  Son  is  the  type 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  When  he  was  upon  the  altar 
and  taken  from  the  altar  we  saw  a  prophetic  picture 
of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  our  Lord.  In  the 
preceding  chapter  the  death  of  Sarah  stands  for  the 
national  death  of  Israel  from  whom  Christ  came 
according  to  the  flesh;  this  national  setting  aside  of 
Israel  occurred  after  Christ  was  risen  from  the  dead 
and  had  returned  to  the  Father.  And  here  in  chapter 
xxiv  we  behold  Isaac,  the  Son  and  Heir,  with  the 
Father  and  the  Father  sending  forth  his  servant  to 


60  THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 

seek  a  bride  for  Isaac.  Typically  we  see  in  this  chap-' 
ter  the  call  and  homebringing  of  her,  who  is  the  com- 
fort of  the  Son,  after  Israel's  failure  and  national 
death,  the  Church. 

Abraham  is  now  old  (140  years).  He  was  very  rich 
in  possessions,  but  his  greatest  treasure  was  the  Son 
of  his  love  who  was  with  him  in  Canaan.  And  Isaac 
is  the  father's  delight  and  the  object  of  his  love  and 
thoughts.  He  is  to  have  a  wife  to  share  his  riches. 
In  sending  forth  the  servant  (probably  Eleazar)  Abra- 
ham tells  him  twice,  "Beware  thou  that  thou  bring 
not  my  son  thither  again."  The  Son  is  not  to  leave  the 
father's  side;  the  bride  is  to  be  brought  to  him.  And 
Abraham  is  assured  of  the  success  of  the  mission  of 
the  servant. 

The  application  is  easily  made.  Canaan,  where  the 
three  dwell,  Abraham,  the  father;  Isaac,  the  Son,  and 
the  servant,  is  the  type  of  the  Heavens.  Abraham 
typifies  the  Father  and  Isaac  the  Son.  The  Son  who 
died,  raised  from  the  dead,  seated  as  the  Heir  of  all 
things  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  is  to  have  one  destined 
from  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  to  share  His 
Riches  and  His  Glory.  For  her,  the  Church,  He  died 
and  purchased  her  with  His  Blood.  For  the  pearl  of 
great  price  He  sold  all  He  had. 

And  whom  does  the  Servant  foreshadow  ?  He  is  the 
oldest  servant ;  he  ruled  over  all  Abraham  had ;  he  was 
with  him  from  the  beginning.  Who  is  represented  by 
the  servant  who  went  forth  in  obedience  and  whose 
sublime  mission  was  crowned  with  such  results  ?  The 
Servant  is  the  type  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  was  sent 
forth  after  Christ  was  glorified  and  with  the  day  of 
Pentecost  He  began  His  blessed  mission  on  earth.  The 
testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  His  work  in  calling 
out  the  church  is  blessedly  foreshadowed  in  this  chap- 
ter.   He  testified  of  the  Father  and  the  Son ;  how  rich 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS.  61 

the  father  is  and  that  Isaac  is  the  heir  of  all  the  riches. 
And  so  the  Holy  Spirit  does  not  speak  of  Himself  but 
of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  makes  known  the 
eternal  purposes  of  the  Father,  and  as  the  Servant's 
mission  did  not  fail,  so  the  mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  present  age  cannot  fail. 

And  richer  still,  in  typical  meaning,  is  the  story  of 
the  chosen  one,  Rebekah.  We  give  a  very  few  hints. 
She  heard  the  message  the  servant  brought.  She  be- 
lieved all  he  said.  She  had  never  seen  Isaac  and  she 
was  attracted  to  him.  The  jewels  of  silver  and  of  gold 
and  the  raiment  the  servant  gave  to  Rebekah  were  the 
evidences  of  the  riches  of  the  unseen  bridegroom  and 
the  tokens  of  his  love.  And  when  they  asked  her, 
**Wilt  thou  go  with  this  man?"  she  answered,  "I  will 
go."    There  was  no  delay. 

All  is  very  simple  in  its  application.  The  sinner 
hears  the  testimony  and  is  to  believe  the  report.  If 
the  Word  is  received  in  faith  and  accepted  then  we 
receive  "the  earnest  of  our  inheritance,"  the  Holy 
Spirit.  The  heart  through  grace  becomes  detached 
from  the  world  and  attached  to  Him,  who  loveth  us  and 
whom  we  love,  though  we  have  never  seen  Him. 

"The  Servant  took  Rebekah  and  went  his  way." 
He  took  charge  of  her.  How  long  the  journey  lasted 
we  do  not  know.  Most  likely  she  was  ignorant  of  the 
journey  and  how  soon  she  was  to  meet  Isaac.  But  the 
bridegroom  Isaac  must  have  ever  been  in  her  heart  and 
before  her  eyes.  And  so  are  God's  called  out  ones, 
who  constitute  the  church,  while  on  the  journey,  in 
charge  and  keeping  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  do  not 
know  how  long  the  journey  towards  the  meeting  place 
may  last. 

From  the  well  of  Lahai-roi  (The  living  and  the 
seeing  One)  Isaac  came.  Isaac  and  Rebekah  met. 
The  servant  presented  her  to  Isaac  and  gave  his  report. 


62  THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS. 

As  Isaac  came  forth  from  Lahai-roi,  so  our  Lord  will 
come  forth  from  the  place  where  He  is  now.  He  will 
come  into  the  air  to  meet  His  own.  (1  Thessal. 
iv:  15-18).  No  doubt  Isaac  waited  for  Eebekah  and  as 
Rebekah  expected  to  meet  him  so  are  we  to  wait  for 
His  Son  from  heaven.  We  shall  see  Him  as  He  is. 
Before  the  night  came  Isaac  took  her  into  his  tent,, 
and  then  the  marriage  (Rev.  xix). 

CHAPTER  XXV:1-11. 
Abraham's  Posterity  From  Keturah.     His  Death. 

1.  Abraham's  Offspring  from  Keturah.     1-4. 

2.  Isaac  the  Heir.     5-6. 

3.  Abraham's  Death  and  Burial.     7-11. 

Abraham's  marriage  to  Keturah  and  the  offspring 
from  her  concludes  the  history  of  this  remarkable 
character.  That  this  took  place  after  Isaac's  marriage 
(typifying  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb)  makes  it  very 
interesting.  After  the  church  is  completed  and  the 
present  age  ends  the  seed  of  Abraham  will  be  blessed 
for  the  nations  of  the  earth  and  nations  will  be  born 
and  walk  in  the  light.  This  will  be  the  result  after 
Israel's  restoration.  Then  all  the  families  of  the  earth 
will  be  blessed  in  Abraham's  seed.  Abraham's  posterity 
from  Keturah  stands  for  the  millennial  nations. 

And  Isaac  is  seen  above  all  these.  He  still  dwelt  at 
Lahai-roi.  He  alone  is  the  Heir  and  the  others  re- 
ceived only  gifts.  So  Christ  is  the  Heir  of  God  and 
His  church  will  be  with  him  far  above  all  the  earthly 
blessings  of  the  age  to  come.  Abraham  died  175  years 
old,  which  means,  he  lived  till  Jacob  and  Esau  were  15 
years  old.  The  phrase  "gathered  to  his  people"  is  used 
only  of  six  persons.  Of  Abraham  (xxv:8);  Ishmael 
(verse  17);  Isaac  (xxxv:29) ;  Jacob  (xlix:29-33) 
Aaron  (Numb.  xx:24),  and  Moses  (Deut.  xxxiii:50). 
Here  we  add  a  few  words  translated  from  the  German. 


THE  BOOK   OF   GENESIS.  63 

and  written  by  Dr.  Kurtz,  late  Professor  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Dorpat: 

"The  human  race  has  had  four  ancestral  heads,  to  each  of 
whom  the  divine  blessing  is  granted:  "Be  fruitful  and  mul- 
tiply." Of  these,  Abraham  is  the  third;  for  he,  too,  is  tho 
head  and  founder  of  a  new  race,  or  of  a  new  development. 
The  direct  reference  of  that  blessing,  in  the  case  of  the  first 
and  second,  is  to  descendants  after  the  flesh;  in  the  case  of  the 
fourth  (Christ,  see  Psalm  22:80—110:3;  Isa.  53:10,  to  a  spirit- 
ual seed,  but  in  the  case  of  Abraham,  to  both;  for  his  spiritual 
seed  was  appointed  to  be  manifested  through  the  medium  of  his 
seed  according  to  the  flesh,  agreeably  to  the  promise:  "in  thee 
and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed." 
The  children  of  Abraham,  according  to  the  flesh,  are  countless 
in  number.  Nations  have  arisen  and  disappeared,  but  his  de- 
scendants proceed  onward,  through  all  ages,  unmixed  and  un- 
changed. Their  history  is  not  yet  closed;  the  blessing  given  to 
his  seed,  still  preserves  them  unharmed,  under  every  pressure 
of  the  nations  around  them,  and  amid  all  the  ravages  of  time. 
But  the  peculiar  feature  which  distinguishes  Abraham  does  not, 
properly,  belong  to  him  naturally,  as  a  member  of  the  human 
family,  or  as  an  individual  of  a  particular  nation,  but  is  found 
in  his  spiritual  character.  Where  this  character,  which  is  faith, 
is  manifested,  we  find  the  true  children  of  Abraham  (Gal.  3:7, 
29;  Rom.  9:6-8). — Faith  was  the  polar  star,  the  very  soul,  of 
his  life.  The  ancient  record,  anticipating  a  development  of  two 
thousand  years,  remarked  of  him,  first  of  all:  "He  believed  in 
the  Lord;  and  he  counted  it  to  him  for  righteousness"  (Gen. 
15:6);  and  after  these  two  thousand  years  had  elapsed,  Christ 
said  of  him:  "Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  my  day:  and  he  saw  i\, 
and  was  glad"  (John  8:56).  Abraham's  true  position  and  im- 
portance cannot,  therefore,  be  fully  appreciated,  until  we  recog- 
nize in  him  the  father  of  them  that  believe  (Rom.  4:11);  and 
innumerable  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  glorious  as  they  are, 
are  his  spiritual  children,  the  children  of  his  faith." 


64  THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 

Part  VIII. — The  Generations  of  Ishmael. 

Chapter  XXV:12.18. 

1.  Ishmael  and  his  Sons.     12-16. 

2.  The  Death  of  Ishmael.     17-18, 

In  chapter  xvi:12  we  find  the  prediction  that  Ishmael 
should  dwell  in  the  presence  of  his  brethren.  In  verse 
18  we  find  the  fulfilment.  The  names  we  find  here 
may  be  traced  in  other  Scriptures.  For  instance  in 
Isaiah  Ix,  the  great  chapter  of  the  Millennial  King- 
dom, we  have  Nebajoth  and  Kedar  mentioned  (verse 
7).  The  number  twelve,  twelve  princes,  links  Ishmael 
closely  with  Israel.  When  Israel  is  blest  in  the  future 
and  receives  the  promised  Land  for  his  glorious  pos- 
session, the  posterity  of  Ishmael  v/ill  not  be  forgotten. 

Part  IX. — The  Generations  of  Isaac. 

Chapter  XXV  :19— XXXV  :29. 

CHAPTER  XXV:19-34. 

Esau  and  Jacob. 

1.  Rebekah  Bai-i-en  and  the  Answered  Prayer,     19-22. 

2.  The  Birth  of  Esau  and  Jacob.     23-26, 

3.  The  Growth  of  the  Boys.     27-28. 

4.  Esau  sells  his  Birthright.     29-34. 

It  was  25  years  after  Abraham  entered  Canaan  be- 
fore Isaac  was  born.  It  was  20  years  after  Isaac's 
marriage  before  the  birth  of  Esau  and  Jacob,  The 
barren  condition  of  Rebekah  led  Isaac  to  exercise  faith 
and  to  cast  himself  upon  the  Lord  for  help.  And  He 
answered  him.  God  delights  to  take  up  what  is  weak 
and  barren  and  manifest  His  power  in  answer  to 
prayer.  Before  the  children  were  born  the  Lord  had 
declared,  "the  elder  shall  serve  the  younger."  The 
struggle  in  Rebekah's  womb  reminds  us  of  the  struggle 
between  the  two  seeds  (Ishmael  i^nd  Isaac)  in  Abra- 
ham's household,  God's  sovereignty  is  here  solemnly 
made  known.     He  knew  them  before  they  were  born 


THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS.  65 

and  He  made  his  choice  according  to  His  own  sovereign 
will  and  purpose.  "And  not  only  this;  but  when 
Hebekah  also  had  conceived  by  one,  even  by  our  father 
Isaac  (for  the  children  being  not  yet  born,  neither  hav- 
ing done  good  or  evil,  that  the  purpose  of  God  accord- 
ing to  election  might  stand,  not  of  works  but  of  Him 
that  calleth),  it  was  said  unto  her.  The  elder  shall  serve 
the  younger,  as  it  is  written,  Jacob  have  I  loved  but 
Esau  have  I  hated"  (Rom.  ix:ll-13).  That  this  does 
not  refer  to  any  unconditional  and  eternal  condemna- 
tion is  clear.  It  must  be  noticed  that  the  statement 
^'Esau  have  I  hated"  does  not  appear  in  Genesis,  but 
in  the  last  book  of  the  Old  Testament.  Then  the  char- 
acter and  defiance  of  Edom  had  become  fully  estab- 
lished. In  Genesis  the  Lord  speaks  only  of  having 
chosen  Jacob  and  what  creature  of  the  dust  can 
challenge  His  right  to  do  so. 

Then  Esau  sold  his  birthright.  It  fully  brought  out 
the  defiance  of  his  wicked  heart.  Hebrews  xii:  16-17. 
The  blessings  of  the  birthright  he  sold  consisted  in 
three  things:  1.  The  Father's  blessing  and  the  place 
of  head  of  the  family.  2.  The  honor  of  being  in  the 
direct  line  of  the  promised  One— Shem-Abraham-Isaac. 
3.  The  exercise  of  the  domestic  priesthood.  All 
this  Esau  despised  for  a  carnal  gratification.  How 
numerous  are  his  followers  in  our  days  who  might  have 
greater  blessings,  but  they  are  lovers  of  pleasure  more 
than  lovers  of  God. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Isaac  in  Gerar. 

1.  The  Famine.     1. 

2.  Jehovah  Appears  unto  Isaac.     2-5. 

3.  Isaac  in  Gerar;  Denies  Rebekah.     6-11. 

4.  Isaac's  Prosoerity;   the  Digging  of  Wells.     12-22. 

5.  Jehovah  Appears  at  Beer-sheba.     23-25. 

6.  Isaac  and  Abimelech.     26-33. 

7.  The  Wives  of  Esau.     34-3f.. 


(^  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS. 

When  the  famine  came  Jehovah  commanded  Isaac 
not  to  go  to  Egypt.  As  Isaac  is  the  type  of  Christ 
risen  from  the  dead  and  Egypt  is  the  type  of  the 
world,  this  command  has  a  significance.  Isaac  is  sep- 
arated from  Egypt  as  Christ  and  His  people  are,  who 
share  in  Him  a  heavenly  place.  We  also  notice,  while 
the  Lord  spoke  to  Abraham  that  his  seed  should  be 
like  the  sand  of  the  sea  (the  natural  descendants)  and 
the  stars  of  heaven  (the  spiritual  seed)  to  Isaac  the 
Lord  promises  the  seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven;  this 
confirms  the  typical  character  of  Isaac. 

In  Gerar  he  failed  like  his  father  failed.  And  while 
Sarah  was  seized  by  Abimelech,  Rebekah  is  not  touched 
nor  separated  from  Isaac.  Christ  and  His  church  are 
inseparable. 

The  digging  of  the  wells  and  Isaac's  patience  fully 
manifests  his  character;  a  little  picture  of  the  patient 
suffering  of  the  Son  of  God  "Who  when  He  was  reviled, 
reviled  not  again;  when  He  suffered,  He  threatened 
not."  Then  Jehovah  appeared  unto  him  again  and 
he  receives  still  greater  blessings  as  the  reward  of  his 
obedience. 

When  Esau  was  40  years  old  he  manifested  his 
defiance  still  more  by  taking  wives  of  the  Hittites  to 
the  grief  of  his  parents. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
The  Story  of  Jacob.    The  Deception  of  Rebekah  and  Jacob. 

1.  Esau  sent  for.     1-4. 

2.  Rebekah's  Deception,     5-17. 

3.  Jacob's  Deception.     18-25. 

4.  Jacob  Blessed.     26-29. 

5.  The  Discovery.     30-40. 

6.  Esau  hates  Jacob.     41. 

7.  Rebekah  Advises  Jacob  to  flee.     42-46. 

With  this  chapter  the  story  of  Jacob  begins.  Three 
periods  of  his  life  are  especially  to  be  noticed.     1.  His 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS.  67 

life  in  Canaan.  2.  His  departure  from  the  land  and 
his  servitude  in  Padan-Aram.  3.  His  Return  to  the 
Land.  The  history  of  his  descendants,  the  people 
Israel,  may  be  traced  in  this.  They  were  in  the  land ; 
now  they  are  away  from  the  land  scattered  among  the 
nations ;  like  Jacob  they  will  return  to  the  land.  Isaac 
knew  the  Word  of  God,  "the  elder  shall  serve  the 
younger,"  yet  he  wanted  to  bless  Esau.  This  was 
failure  on  his  side.  Yet  he  blessed  Jacob  by  faith. 
Heb.  xi  :20.  Rebekah  wants  to  comply  with  the  divine 
declaration  but  uses  unholy  means  trying  to  aid  God 
hy  her  own  devices  to  fulfill  His  Word.  Jacob  obeys 
his  mother  and  makes  use  of  the  deception.  Esau 
deceives,  too,  for  he  claimed  a  blessing  to  which  he  had 
no  right  before  God  and  man.  The  flesh  and  its  sinful 
ways  is  fully  manifested  in  this  chapter,  nevertheless 
the  will  of  God  was  accomplished. 

Isaac  lived  after  this  event  43  years  longer,  but 
with  this  he  passes  from  the  page  of  history.  Of  his 
death  and  burial  by  Esau  and  Jacob  we  hear  later.  His 
life  was  characterized  by  patient  endurance  and  suffer- 
ing and  his  faith  consisted  in  quietness  and  waiting. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 
Jacob's  Departure  to   Pandan-Aram.     His  Vision. 

1.  Isaac  sends  Jacob  away.     His  Blessing.     1-5. 

2.  Esau's  Action.     6-9. 

3.  Jacob's  Vision  and  Vow.    10-22. 

We  enter  with  this  upon  the  interesting  wanderings 
of  the  third  Patriarch  Jacob.  God  was  pleased  to  reveal 
Himself  to  the  three  illustrious  men,  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob,  as  he  did  not  before.  In  Exodus  iii:4-15 
Jehovah  reveals  Himself  to  Moses  and  Jehovah  calls 
Himself  "the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac  and 
the  God  of  Jacob.  This  is  my  name  forever."  In 
Abraham,  as  we  have  seen,  we  have  the  type  of  the 


68  THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS. 

Father ;  in  Isaac  the  type  of  the  Son  and  now  in  Jacob 
we  shall  find  the  type  of  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Jacob  in  his  history  foreshadows  the  history  of  Jacob's 
sons. 

Jacob's  departure  stands  for  Israel's  expulsion  from 
their  own  land  to  begin  their  wanderings  and  suffer- 
ing, till  they  are  brought  back  again  to  the  land  sworn 
to  the  heads  of  the  nation.  In  the  chastening  which 
passed  over  him  we  see  God's  governmental  dealings 
with  Israel. 

The  vision  at  Bethel  is  mentioned  by  our  Lord  in 
John  i:52.  The  Jehovah  who  stood  above  the  ladder 
Jacob  saw  is  the  same  who  spoke  to  Nathaniel,  "Here- 
after ye  shall  see  heaven  open  and  the  angels  of  God 
ascending  and  descending  upon  the  Son  of  Man."  It  is. 
the  vision  of  the  future.  Jehovah  in  that  vision  gave 
the  promise  of  the  land  to  Jacob  and  told  him  that  his 
seed  shall  be  as  the  dust  of  the  earth.  Notice  while 
to  Isaac  the  promise  is  of  a  heavenly  seed  to  Jacob  a 
seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven  is  not  mentioned.  Still 
more  was  promised  to  Jacob.  Read  verse  15.  "I  will 
not  leave  thee  until  I  have  done  that  which  I  have 
spoken  to  thee  about."  Here  again  is  Sovereign  Mercy. 
What  did  Jacob  do  to  merit  all  this?  Why  should 
God  meet  him  thus  ?  Did  he  think  of  the  Lord  and  call 
on  Him  for  mercy  before  he  slept  on  the  stone? 
Nothing  whatever.  And  Jehovah  kept  His  promise 
and  did  all  He  had  promised.  "I  will  not  leave  thee'^ 
is  a  repeated  promise.  See  Deut.  xxxi:6;  Josh.  i:5; 
1  Chronicle  xxviii:20;  Hebrews  xiii:5-6.  "Happy  is  he 
that  hath  the  God  of  Jacob  for  his  help,  whose  hope  is 
in  Jehovah  his  God"  (Ps.  cxlvi:5).  And  He  is  our  God 
and  our  Lord  and  in  His  Grace  keeps  and  leads  us  and 
does  all  He  has  promised.  Thus  God  met  Jacob  at 
Bethel  (the  house  of  God) ,  assured  him  of  His  watch- 
ing care  over  him  and  of  a  return  home  in  peace. 


THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS.  69 

Though  Israel  is  now  nationally  set  aside  and  they  are 
dispersed,  yet  God  watches  over  them,  keeps  them  and 
will  lead  them  back  in  His  own  time. 

The  ridiculous  claim  that  "the  coronation  stone"  in 
London  is  the  stone  upon  which  Jacob  slept  needs  no 
refutation.  Leading  geologists  declare  unanimously 
that  this  stone  did  not  come  from  Palestine. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
Jacob  with  Laban. 

1.  Jacob's  Arrival  at  Padan  Aram.     1-14. 

2.  His  Service  for  Rachel.     15-20. 

3.  Laban's  Deception.     21-25. 

4.  Jacob  Receives  Rachel.     26-31. 

5.  Leah's  Sons.     32-35. 

The  Lord  brought  him  to  Padan  Aram,  where  he 
was  to  dwell  as  an  exile  for  twenty  years.  During 
these  twenty  years  Jehovah  did  not  manifest  Himself 
to  him,  even  as  Israel  dispersed  among  the  nations  has 
no  communications  from  the  Lord.  His  sojourn  in 
Padan  Aram  produced  suffering,  the  disciplinary  deal- 
ings of  God  with  him.  He  reaps  in  a  measure  what  he 
had  sown.  He  deceived  his  father  Isaac  and  now  Laban 
deceives  him  in  different  ways,  especially  by  substitut- 
ing Leah  for  the  beloved  Rachel.  A  week  after  he 
received  Leah,  Rachel  was  given  to  him.  But  though 
he  possessed  her,  he  had  to  serve  seven  years  for  her. 

Interesting  are  the  names  of  the  sons  of  Leah. 
Reuben  (Behold  a  Son!);  Simeon  (Hearing);  Levi 
(Joined) ;  Judah  (Praise) .  It  is  the  order  of  the 
Gospel. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
Jacob  with  Laban. 

1.  The  Sons  of  Bilhah:  Dan  and  Naphtali.     1-8. 

2.  The  Sons  of  Zilpah:  Gad  and  Asher.     9-13. 

3.  The  Children  of  Leah:  Issachar,  Zebulon  and  Dinah.    14-20. 

4.  The  Birth  of  Joseph.     22-24. 

5.  Jacob's  Request  to  Return.     25-26. 

6.  Laban's  Confession  and  Jacob's  Prosperity.     27-43. 


70  THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS. 

Little  comment  is  needed  on  this.  The  avarice  and 
deceit  of  Laban  is  matched  by  the  dexterity  and  cun- 
ning of  Jacob.  Joseph's  birth  marks  an  important 
event.  It  is  then  that  Jacob  said  unto  Laban,  "Send  me 
away  that  I  may  go  unto  mine  own  place  and  to  my 
country."  All  this  is  likewise  typical.  Rachel  the 
first  loved  represents  Israel;  Leah,  the  Gentiles.  The 
names  Reuben,  Simeon,  Levi  and  Juda  (see  transla- 
tions) tell  out  the  story  of  His  Grace  towards  the 
Gentiles.  Rachel,  the  barren,  was  remembered  and 
gave  birth  to  Joseph  (adding),  the  one  who  was  made 
great  among  the  Gentiles  and  the  deliverer  of  his 
brethren,  and  therefore  the  type  of  Christ.  How  inter- 
esting that  Jacob  thought  at  once  of  returning  when 
Joseph  had  been  born.  But  he  had  to  wait  six  years 
more. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Jacob's  Servitude  Ended  and  Flight  from   Laban. 

1.  Laban's  Behavior  and  God's  Commandment.     1-10. 

2.  The  Dream  Vision  to  Return  to  the  Land.     11-16. 

3.  Jacob's  Flight.     17-21. 

4.  Laban  Warned.     22-24. 

5.  Laban's  Accusation.     25-30. 

6.  Jacob's  Answer.     31-42. 

7.  The  Covenant  Between  Jacob  and  Laban.     43-55. 

The  twenty  years  had  expired.  Laban's  hatred  and 
the  hatred  of  his  sons  had  increased.  When  the  crisis 
had  been  reached  the  voice  of  Jehovah  was  heard. 
**Return  unto  the  land  of  thy  fathers  and  to  thy 
kindred;  and  I  will  be  with  thee."  This  is  the  first 
time  Jehovah  spoke  since  the  vision  at  Bethel.  Jacob 
then  laid  the  matter  before  his  wives  and  relates  a 
dream  in  which  the  angel  of  the  Lord  had  spoken  to 
him.  What  comfort  it  must  have  been  for  him  to  hear 
*T  have  seen  all  that  Laban  doeth  unto  thee."  The 
Lord  watched  over  Jacob  and  though  Laban  hated  him 


THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS.  71 

Jacob  prospered.    So  Israel  in  the  dispersion,  hated  by 
the  Gentiles,  increases  and  prospers. 

Rachel  and  Leah  consented  to  flee  and  Jacob  departs 
with  his  great  wealth,  his  cattle  and  his  goods.  Soon 
Laban  pursued  and  overtook  Jacob.  God  warned 
the  Syrian  to  beware  how  he  treated  Jacob.  It  seems 
that  the  main  reason  of  the  pursuit  were  the  teraphim 
(household  gods)  which  Rachel  had  stolen  and  which 
Laban  wanted  to  recover.  Idolatry  was  practised  in 
the  household  of  Laban,  though  he  used  the  name  of 
Jehovah  (verse  49).  The  dialogue  between  Jacob  and 
Laban  is  intensely  interesting. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 
Jacob's  Fear  of  Esau.    At  Peniel. 

1.  The  Vision  at  Mahanaim.     1-2. 

2.  The  Message  to  Esau.     3-5. 

3.  Esau's  Coming  and  Jacob's  Fear.     6-8. 

4.  Jacob's  Prayer.     9-12. 

5.  Preparing  to  meet  Esau.     13-23. 

6.  Jacob's  Prayer  at  Peniel.     24-32. 

What  a  welcome  it  was  when  he  came  near  to  his 
land,  that  the  angels  of  God  met  him.  They  were 
like  divine  ambassadors  sent  to  welcome  him  back  to 
assure  him  of  God's  presence  and  protection.  When 
the  remnant  of  Israel  returns  in  the  future  to  the 
promised  land,  the  angelic  hosts  will  not  be  absent. 
They  have  a  share  in  the  regathering  and  restoration 
of  the  people  Israel  (Matth.  xxiv:31).  But  he  faced 
the  greatest  trouble,  his  brother  Esau.  Fear  drives 
him  to  prayer.  It  is  a  remarkable  prayer.  1.  He 
acknowledges  his  utter  unworthiness.  2.  He  gives 
God  the  Glory  for  all  he  has  received.  3.  He  cries  for 
deliverance.  4.  He  reminds  God  of  the  promises  given 
at^  Bethel.  And  the  Lord  heard  and  answered  his 
prayer.  The  returning  remnant  of  Israel  during  the 
great  tribulation  will  confess  and  pray  in  the  same 
manner. 

The  night  experience  at  Jabbok  was  not  a  dream. 


72  THE  BOOK   OF   GENESIS. 

nor  a  vision,  but  an  actual  occurrence.  The  same  per- 
son who  appeared  to  Abraham  at  Mamre  (chapt.  xviii) 
appeared  to  Jacob  that  night.  It  is  often  stated  that 
Jacob  wrestled  with  the  Lord  who  came  to  him  that 
night;  it  is  the  other  way,  the  Lord  wrestled  with 
Jacob.  And  He  appeared  in  that  memorable  night  as 
Jacob's  enemy  and  opponent.  Jacob  uses  the  same 
carnal  weapons  with  which  he  had  in  the  past  con- 
tended against  God;  he  meets  Him  in  his  own  natural 
strength.  That  stubborness  is  overcome  by  the  Lord 
touching  the  hip-joint  of  Jacob,  dislocating  it.  In  this 
way  He  completely  crippled  his  strength  and  now  Jacob 
could  wrestle  no  more.  In  utter  weakness  and  help- 
lessness he  could  but  cling  to  Him  and  ask  a  blessing. 
"By  his  strength  he  had  power  with  God,  yea  he  had 
power  over  the  angel  and  prevailed ;  he  wept  and  made 
supplication  unto  Him"  (Hos.  xii:3-4).  The  weeping 
and  supplication  was  his  strength.  His  name  is  changed. 
From  now  on  his  name  is  "Israel" — a  Prince  with  God. 
And  the  descendants  of  Jacob,  at  the  time  of  Jacob's 
trouble  (Jerem.  xxx:4),  will  make  a  similar  experience 
and  have  their  Peniel. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
The  Reconciliation  of  Esau. 

1.  Jacob  meets  Esau.     1-17. 

2.  In  the  City  of  Shechem.     The  Altar  Erected.     18-20. 

The  reconciliation  is  effected,  but  Jacob  is  the  same 
man  of  deceit.  He  tells  his  brother  he  will  follow  him 
to  Seir.  But  he  goes  instead  to  Succoth.  He  built  an 
altar  there,  but  it  is  not  the  worship  God  expected- 
He  should  have  gone  to  Bethel  and  fulfilled  his  vow. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
Defilement  of  Dinah. 

1.  The  Defilement.     1-3. 

2.  Hamor's  Proposal.     4-12. 

3.  The  Deceitful  Answer  of  Jacob's   Sons.     13-24. 

4.  The  males  of  Shechem  Slain.     25-29. 

5.  Jacob's  Shame  and  Grief.     30-31. 


THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS.  73 

If  Jacob  after  the  Peniel  experience  had  gone  to 
Bethel  instead  of  building  a  house  at  Succoth  and  buy- 
ing a  parcel  of  a  held,  perhaps  this  sad  event  might 
never  have  occurred.  God  permitted  it  for  the  humilia- 
tion of  His  servant  Jacob.  Again  he  reaps  what  he 
had  sown  and  the  deceit  of  the  father  is  reflected  in  the 
deceit  of  some  of  his  sons. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 
Jacob  at  Bethel.     Three  Deaths. 

1.  The  Divine  Command.     1. 

2.  The  Defilement  put  Away.     2-4. 

3.  The  Journey  to  Bethel  and  the  Altar.     5-7. 

4.  Deborah,  Rebekah's  Nurse  Dies.     8. 

5.  God  Appears  to  Jacob.     9-15. 

6.  Benoni-Benjamin.     Rachel's  death.     16-20. 

7.  The  Twelve  Sons  of  Jacob.     21-26. 

8.  Isaac's  Death.     27-29. 

The  Lord  did  not  leave  Jacob  in  Shechem  amidst  the 
evil  and  corrupting  influences.  The  Lord  now  reminded 
him  of  what  had  happened  long  ago  and  of  the  unful- 
filled vow  he  had  made  when  he  had  his  dream-vision. 
And  he  responded.  His  house,  however,  was  first 
cleansed  from  the  defilement ;  the  strange  gods  among 
them,  most  likely  teraphim  or  household  gods,  had  to 
be  put  away.  After  that  was  done  he  gave  the  order 
to  go  to  Bethel  to  make  an  altar  there  unto  God.  They 
gave  up  their  gods  and  earrings ;  the  latter  must  have 
been  in  the  shape  of  figures  representing  idols.  And 
after  this  cleansing  they  became  a  mighty  host,  the 
terror  of  God  fell  upon  the  cities  through  which  they 
journeyed.  The  altar  is  built  and  the  place  called  El 
Bethel  (God  of  the  House  of  God).  Rebekah's  nurse 
died.  After  chapter  xxvii:45  Rebekah  is  no  longer 
mentioned;  not  even  her  death.  This  corresponds 
with  that  which  she  typifies,  the  church.    Jacob  as  we 


74 


THE  BOOK   OF   GENESIS. 


learned  foreshadows  the  history  of  the  earthly  people 
of  God  and  as  that  is  related  no  more  mention  of 
Eebekah  is  made.  Then  God  met  him  again  and  Jacob 
becomes  Israel  in  reality. 

Rachel  gives  birth  to  another  son  at  Ephrath  and 
-dies  there.  The  one  born  has  a  double  name.  "Bsnoni," 
which  means  "Son  of  Sorrow";  "Benjamin",  which  is 
"the  Son  of  the  right  hand."  Here  we  have  another 
type  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  His  humiliation  and 
exaltation.  Bethlehem  is  here  mentioned  for  the  first 
time  in  the  Bible. 

After  the  names  of  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob  are 
given  and  Reuben's  evil  deed  is  recorded  we  hear  of  the' 
death  of  Isaac.  He  died  180  years  old  and  his  sons 
Esau  and  Jacob  buried  him.  We  now  add  a  little 
diagram,  which  gives  the  family  tree  of  the  Patrial'chs 
down  to  the  end  of  this  Book. 

TERAH. 


Haran. 


Nahor. 
(of  Milcah.) 


Iscah,  Milcah,  Lot. 
I 


Bethuel. 

I 


I  I 

fof  Hagar.)     (of  Sarah.) 


Ishmael.  Isaac. 

(of  Rebekah.) 


loab, 


Laban,  Rebekah. 

I 


Leah,     Rachel. 


Esau 


,i 


idom.)  Jacob, (Israel.) 

I 


(of  L 


(of  Bilhah.) 


Reuben,  Simeon, 
Levi,  Judah, 
Issachar,  Zebulun, 
Dinah. 


Dan,  Naphtali 


(of  Zilpah.) 

L. 

Gad,  Asher. 


(of  Rachel.) 
I 

Joseph,  Benjamin. 
Ephraim,    Manasseh. 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS.  75 


Part  X. — The  Generations  of  Esau. 

Chapter  XXXVI :l-8. 

1.  Esau  in  Canaan,  his  Wives  and  Sons.     1-5. 

2.  Esau  Leaving  Canaan;  in  Edom.     6-8. 


Part  XL — The  Generations  of  Esau  la 
Mount    Seir. 

Chapter  XXXVI  :9-43. 

1.  Sons  of  Esau. 

2.  Sons  of  Eliphaz.     11-12. 

3.  Sons  of  Reuel.     13. 

4.  Sons  of  Aholibamah.     14. 

5.  Dukes  of  Eliphaz.     15-16. 

6.  Dukes  of  Reuel.     17. 

7.  Dukes  of  Jeush.     18. 

8.  Dukes  of  Horite  and  Kings  of  Edom.     20-43. 

We  point  out  a  few  interesting  facts  in  these  two 
generations  of  Esau  and  Esau's  sons.  In  verse  6  we 
read  that  Esau  went  into  the  country  from  the  face  of 
his  brother  Jacob.  It  came  at  last  to  a  pronounced  and 
complete  separation  between  Esau  and  Jacob.  Jacob 
dwelt  in  the  land  in  which  his  father  was  a  stranger. 
And  Edom  became  the  treacherous  foe  to  the  people 
of  Israel.  Read  Obadiah,  verses  8-16.  From  the  con- 
cubine of  Eliphaz  was  born  Amalek,  one  of  the  terrible 
enemies  of  Israel  with  whom  there  was  to  be  a  con- 
tinual warfare.    Exod.  xvii:8,  14. 

And  what  a  prolific  progeny  of  the  wicked  Esau! 
The  Hebrew  names  tell  the  story  of  their  expansion, 
their  wickedness  and  power.  What  was  not  of  God 
developed  rapidly,  as  it  does  now,  in  the  earth. 


76  THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS. 

Part  XII. — The  Generations  of  Jacob. 

Chapter  XXXVII-L:26. 
CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
The  Story  of  Joseph. 

1.  Jacob  Dwelling  in  Canaan.     1. 

2.  Joseph's  Character  and  Feeding  the  Flock.     2. 

3.  Beloved  of  His  Father.     3. 

4.  Hated  by  his  Brethren.     4. 

5.  The  Dream  of  the  Sheaves.     5-8. 

6.  The  Dream  of  the  Sun,  Moon  and  Stars.     9-11. 

7.  Joseph  seeks  his  Brethren.     12-17. 

8.  The  Plot  Against  Joseph.     18-22. 

9.  Joseph  in  the  pit  and  Sold.     23-28. 

10.  Reuben's  Grief.     29-30. 

11.  The  Deception  of  Jacob's  Sons.     31-32. 

12.  The  Grief  of  Jacob.     33-35. 

13.  Joseph  in  Egypt.     36. 

The  Story  of  Joseph  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
in  the  whole  Bible.  The  Holy  Spirit  has  devoted  more 
space  to  the  life  of  Joseph  than  He  devoted  to  Abra- 
ham. The  reason  for  this  must  be  sought  in  the  fact 
that  the  story  of  Joseph  foreshadows  the  story  of 
Christ.  Some  critics  have  made  out  that  the  Story  of 
Joseph  is  an  invention  and  that  the  record  was  writ- 
ten hundreds  of  years  after  Moses.  However,  archeo- 
logical  evidence  has  fully  and  completely  established 
the  historical  character  of  Joseph.  Two  of  the  EI 
Amarna  tablets  show  that  a  Semite  held  such  a  high 
position  as  attributed  to  Joseph.  Others,  while  they 
believe  in  the  historicity  of  Joseph,  deny  that  his  life 
is  typical  of  our  Lord.  Such  a  denial  is  akin  to  spiritual 
blindness.  It  is  true  nowhere  is  a  statement  made  that 
Joseph  typifies  Christ,  but  throughout  this  age  all 
teachers  of  the  Word  have  treated  the  life  of  Joseph 
as  foreshadowing  Christ.  Stephen  in  his  great  ad- 
dress before  the  Jewish  council  mentions  Joseph  (Acts 
vii:9-14) ;  the  messianic  application  must  have  been  in 
his  mind. 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS.  77 

The  life  of  Joseph  falls  into  two  periods ;  his  humili- 
ation and  his  exaltation.  In  these  two  parts  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ  and  the  Glory  that  should  follow  are 
blessedly  foreshadowed.  There  is  no  other  type  so  per- 
fect as  that  of  Joseph.  In  our  annotations  we  shall 
not  be  able  to  point  out  all  the  comparisons;  only  the 
leading  ones  we  give  as  a  hint.* 

Israel  loved  Joseph  more  than  all  his  sons  and  that 
reminds  us  of  Him  who  is  the  Father's  delight.  Joseph 
was  separated  from  evil,  even  as  Christ  was.  Joseph 
had  a  coat  of  many  colors,  the  expression  of  the  Fath- 
er's love;  thus  God  honored  His  Son.  And  as  Joseph 
was  hated  by  his  brethren  without  a  cause,  so  Christ 
was  hated.  (John  xx:25.)  The  dreams  foretold  Joseph's 
future  exaltation;  he  saw  things  in  heaven  and  things 
on  earth  bowing  before  him,  even  as  before  Christ 
things  in  heaven  and  on  earth  must  bow  the  knee. 

Then  the  father  sent  forth  his  beloved  Joseph  to 
seek  his  brethren  who  were  lost.  Israel  put  Joseph  into 
their  hands.  All  this  foreshadows  God's  unspeakable 
gift  in  sending  His  only  begotten  Son  into  this  world 
to  seek  what  is  lost. 

Then  note  the  following  typical  suggestions.  When 
he  came  to  his  brethren,  they  conspired  against  him 
to  slay  him.  "Come  now  therefore  let  us  slay  him,  and 
cast  him  in  some  pit."  And  in  John  v:16  it  is  written 
that  the  Jews  sought  to  slay  Christ.  They  stripped 
him  of  his  coat,  as  our  Lord  was  stripped  of  His  gar- 
ment. He  was  cast  into  the  pit  and  sat  down  to  eat 
bread.  And  the  Pharisees  who  had  delivered  up  the 
Lord  Jesus  sat  down  to  eat  the  passover,  while  the 


*We  have  a  little  booklet  "Joseph  and  His  Brethren"  con- 
taining several  addresses  as  delivered  by  us  to  Jewish  audiences. 
The  reader  will  find  there  a  more  complete  description  of  the 
typical  character  of  Joseph.     (Price  5  cts.) 


78  THE  BOOK   OF   GENESIS. 

soldiers,  who  had  parted  the  garments  sat  down 
to  watch  them.  They  sold  him  as  the  Lord  was  sold 
and  Judah  was  the  one  who  said  "let  us  sell  him." 
This  brings  the  betrayal  by  Judas  to  our  mind. 

And  Jacob  is  deceived  by  his  sons  as  he  deceived 
his  father.  The  coat  stained  by  the  blood  of  a  kid  re- 
minds us  of  the  skin  of  the  kid  with  which  he  had  de- 
ceived Isaac. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
Judah  and  Tamar. 

1.  Judah's  Marriage  to  the  Canaanitish  Woman.     1-2. 

2.  His  Sons:  Er,  Onan  and  Shelah.     3-5. 

3.  Tamar  Married  to  Er  and  Onan.     6-10. 

4.  Tamar  Waiting  for  Shelah.     11. 

5.  Her  Deception  and  Judah's  Sin.     12-26. 

6.  The  Birth  of  Pharez  and  Zarah.     27-30. 

Historically  this  chapter  comes  before  the  37th.  The 
higher  critics  are  one  against  the  other  in  their  unbe- 
lieving speculations  over  the  composition  of  this  chap- 
ter. It  is  inserted  here  for  a  most  interesting  purpose. 
Judah's  history  foreshadows  the  history  of  the  Jews 
after  they  had  rejected  the  Lord  Jesus.  His  connec- 
tion with  a  Canaanite  (trafficker)  and  his  marriage  to 
the  daughter  of  Shuah  (riches)  shows  what  the  Jews 
have  been  ever  since  they  rejected  Christ.  His  off- 
spring is  Er  (enmity)  and  Onan  (wickedness)  till  the 
significant  third  one  comes,  the  sprout  (Shelah)  point- 
ing to  the  godly  remnant  of  that  nation  in  the  future.* 
^  And  Tamar's  sin,  so  dark  and  vile,  shows  forth  the 
Grace  of  God.  We  find  her  name  and  the  names  of  her 
two  sons  in  the  Genealogy  of  Christ.    Matth.  I. 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
Joseph  in  Egypt. 

1.  In  Potiphar's  house.     1-6. 

2.  Tempted  by  Potiphar's  Wife.     7-18. 

3.  Joseph  in  Prison.     19-23. 


*0n  that  remnant  see  Study  Pamphlet  on  Isaiah. 


THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS.  79 

Potiphar,  the  master  of  Joseph,  was  an  officer  of  Phar- 
aoh. His  name  means  ''devoted  to  Ra,"  a  god  of  Egypt. 
Why  is  it  stated  a  number  of  times  that  Potiphar  was 
an  Egyptian?  Discoveries  have  shown  that  Egypt  had 
come  at  that  time  under  a  new  dynasty;  therefore 
it  is  repeatedly  stated  that  Potiphar,  the  Egyptian,  was 
retained  in  his  official  position.  Joseph  in  Egypt  is  the 
type  of  Christ  among  the  Gentiles.  Jehovah  blessed  the 
Egyptian's  house  for  Joseph's  sake. 

The  temptation  of  Potiphar's  wife  brings  out  the 
marvellous  character  of  Joseph.  The  critics  in  reject- 
ing this  story  have  dug  their  own  pit  into  which  they 
have  fallen.  A  number  of  critics  (Von  Bohlen,  Tuch 
and  others)  claim  "that  Joseph  could  never  have  seen 
his  master's  wife,  for  the  women  were  secluded  and 
had  separate  apartments."  Monuments  and  Egyptian 
paintings  have  shown  that  the  women  were  not  seclu- 
ded, but  mingled  freely  with  the  men.  Woman  in  the 
hieroglyphics  is  called  neb-t-en  pa,  which  means  "Mis- 
tress of  the  house."  An  ancient  papyrus  was  discov- 
ered containing  "the  Romance  of  the  two  brothers." 
It  contains  an  episode  similar  to  that  of  our  chapter. 
It  fully  bears  out  the  fact  that  the  temptation  of 
Joseph  is  not  a  myth  and  it  is  thought  that  this  event 
in  Joseph's  life  formed  the  basis  for  the  Romance  of 
the  two  brothers. 

Joseph  suffered  innocently,  but  the  prison  in  which 
he  was  confined  becomes  the  high  road  to  power  and 
glory.  How  much  greater  were  the  sufferings  of  Him,, 
who  was  not  innocent,  but  holy. 

CHAPTER  X^ 
Joseph  the  Interpreter  of  Dreams. 

1.  The  Fellow  Prisoners.     1-8. 

2.  The  Dream  of  the  Chief  Butler.     9-11. 

3.  The  Interpretation.     12-13. 

4.  Joseph's  Request.     14-15. 


80  THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 

5.  The  Dream  of  the  Chief  Baker.     16-17. 
•6.  The  Interpretation.     18-19. 

7.  The  Fulfilment.     20-22. 

8.  Joseph  Forgotten.     23. 

He  was  reckoned  among  the  transgressors.  To  the 
-one  he  spoke  the  word  concerning  life,  while  the  other 
heard  the  message  of  death.  Thus  Christ  was  reckoned 
among  the  evildoers.  To  the  one  crucified  with  Him 
He  said,  "Today  thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  Paradise," 
while  the  other  malefactor  railed  and  died  in  his  sins. 

Critics  do  not  believe  even  this  simple  story  and 
deny  the  culture  of  vines  in  Egypt.  But  the  Egyptian 
paintings  have  given  them  the  lie.  They  picture  the 
pressing  of  the  grapes  in  a  cup,  which  was  a  religious 
ceremony.  Joseph  was  forgotten ;  two  years  longer  he 
had  to  remain  in  prison.  What  exercise  of  patience 
and  faith  he  must  have  had ! 

CHAPTER  XLI. 
Joseph's  Exaltation.  • 

1.  Pharaoh's  Dreams.     1-7. 

2.  Joseph  Brought  from  the  Prison.     8-15. 

3.  Joseph's  Humility.     16. 

4.  The  Revealer  of  Secrets.     17-32. 

5.  Joseph's  Wise  Council.     33-36. 
■6.  Pharaoh's  Answer.     37-40. 

7.  Joseph's  Exaltation  and  Marriage.     41-46. 

All  is  SO  simple  that  little  comment  is  needed.  The 
-dreams  impressed  Pharaoh,  because  the  cow  was  a 
sacred  animal,  the  emblem  of  Isis.  At  last  Joseph  is 
remembered  and  brought  out  of  the  prison  and  his 
raiment  is  changed.  All  this  finds  an  application  In  the 
life  of  our  Lord.  He  was  taken  out  of  the  grave.  Com- 
pare verse  16,  Joseph's  humility,  with  the  humility  of 
another  Hebrew  prisoner,  Daniel  in  Babylon.  (See  Dan. 
ii:27-30.) 

The  seven  years  of  plenty  and  the  seven  years  of 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS.  81 

famine  are  typical.  Now  the  world  is  enjoying  pros- 
perity and  plenty,  but  this  age  will  close  with  the  seven 
years  of  tribulation. 

And  this  dream  of  Pharaoh  and  Joseph's  interpreta- 
tion has  been  remarkably  confirmed  by  the  hieroglyphic 
inscriptions.  One  was  discovered  in  1908  which  tells  of 
the  seven  years  of  famine,  because  the  Nile  did  not 
overflow.  It  has  been  ascertained  that  this  was  the 
very  time  when  Joseph  was  in  Egypt.* 

Then  follows  Joseph's  exaltation.  The  name  of  this 
Pharaoh  was  Apepi.  His  father  and  grandfather  were 
for  a  time  co-regents  with  him.  He  recognized  the 
presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  Joseph.  Note  the 
beautiful  comparisons  with  our  Lord.  Pharaoh  said, 
"I  have  set  thee  over  all  the  land  of  Egypt."  Of  Christ 
we  read,  "Thou  didst  set  Him  over  the  works  of  thy 
hands."  Joseph  said,  "God  hath  made  me  lord  of  all 
Egypt"  and  Christ  is  "Lord  over  all."  Joseph  is  arrayed 
in  royal  vesture,  and  Christ  is  crowned  with  glory  and 
honor.  The  word  "Abrech"  was  cried  before  him. 
This  word  means  "Bow  the  Knee."  According  to  Prof. 
Sayce  of  Oxford  "Abrech"  is  the  Sumerian  "Abrok," 
which  means  the  seer.  This  would  call  for  prostration. 
Thus  every  knee  must  bow  before  our  exalted  Lord. 
The  name  by  which  he  was  called  is  in  the  Septuagint 
"Psomtomphanech."  This  is  an  Egyptian  name,  mean- 
ing "Saviour  of  the  World."  The  word  Zaphneth- 
paaneach  means  "Revealer  of  Secrets."  Even  so  Christ 
after  He  was  rejected  by  His  own  brethren  became  the 
Revealer  of  Secrets  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

Before  the  seven  years  of  famine  came  Joseph  re- 
ceived his  bride,  Asenath,  the  Gentile,  and  Christ  will 
have  His  beloved  with  Him  before  the  years  of  tribula- 
tion and  judgment  come.     All  had  to  come  to  Joseph 


See  for  full  report  "Our  Hope,"  October,  1908. 


82  THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS. 

for  corn,  as  all  must  come  to  Christ  for  the  bread  of 
life. 

CHAPTER  XLII. 
The   First   Visit   of  Joseph's   Brethren. 

1.  Joseph's  Brethren  Sent  to  Egypt.     1-5. 

2.  Joseph  Meets  His  Brethren.     6-16. 

3.  Put  in  Prison  for  Three  Days.     17. 

4.  Joseph's  Demand.     18-20. 

5.  The  Accusing  Conscience.     21-23. 

6.  Joseph  Wept.     Simeon  Bound.    24. 

7.  The  Return  of  the  Nine.     25-38. 

The  famine  years  bring  Joseph's  brethren  to  repent- 
ance and  after  the  deepest  exercise  Joseph  makes  him- 
self known  to  them  and  they  find  forgiveness  and  deliv- 
erance. Thus  it  will  be  during  the  tribulation  of  the 
last  days  of  the  present  age.  The  remnant  of  Israel 
will  pass  through  that  time  called  "Jacob's  trouble"  and 
be  saved  out  of  it.  Then  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will 
make  Himself  known  to  His  brethren,  according  to  the 
flesh. 

Joseph's  treatment  of  his  brethren,  whom  he  recog- 
nized, was  harsh,  so  that  they  might  be  led  to  acknowl- 
edge their  sin.  And  they  readily  confess  their  guilt  on 
account  of  having  sold  their  brother  and  take  the  harsh 
treatment  and  imprisonment  they  received  as  a  just 
retribution.  And  Joseph  understood  all  their  words  so 
that  he  wept.  And  He  who  was  rejected  by  His  own 
has  a  loving  sympathy  for  this  nation.  Simeon  remains 
behind ;  while  Joseph  demands  Benjamin.  The  grief  of 
Jacob  is  pathetic. 

CHAPTER  XLHI. 
The  Second  Visit  to  Joseph. 

1.  The  Journey  to  Egypt  With  Benjamin.     1-15. 

2.  The  Kindness  of  Joseph.     16-34. 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 
The  Feigned  Dismal  and  the  Bringing  Back. 

1.  The  Cup  Concealed  and  the  Dismal.     1-13. 

2.  The  Return  to  Joseph's  House.     14-34. 


THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS.  83 

CHAPTER  XLV. 
Joseph  Reveals  Himself. 

1.  He  Reveals  Himself.     1-3. 

2.  His  Address.     4-13. 

3.  He  Kissed  His  Brethren.     14-15. 

4.  Pharaoh's  Command.     16-20. 

5.  His  Brethren  Sent  Away;  Their  Return  to  Jacob.     21-28. 

These  three  chapters  belong  together  because  they 
lead  up  to  the  great  climax  in  the  story  of  Joseph.  The 
nobility  of  the  character  of  Joseph  is  here  fully  brought 
out.  Besides  being  a  wise  man,  the  great  statesman  of 
Egypt,  he  had  a  heart  of  tender  love.  Seven  times  we 
read  of  Joseph  that  he  wept.  The  trial  with  the  cup, 
which  had  been  hidden  in  Benjamin's  sack,  was  the 
needful  and  decisive  test.  Benjamin  had  become  the 
object  of  Jacob's  love.  The  trial  with  the  cup  was  to 
bring  out  whether  they  cherished  the  same  bitter  feel- 
ings against  Benjamin  which  had  governed  their  con- 
duct towards  Joseph.  Their  behaviour  now  reveals  the 
great  change  which  had  taken  place.  They  confess  that 
their  iniquity  has  been  found  out  and  Judah,  the 
spokesman,  manifests  the  most  affectionate  reverence 
for  his  old  father  and  the  ardent  love  for  his  younger 
brother. 

But  who  is  able  to  describe  the  scene  when  Joseph 
made  himself  known  to  his  brethren,  when  they  had 
come  the  second  time  ?  It  is  a  chapter  of  great  tender- 
ness. Some  day  He  who  was  rejected  and  disowned  by 
His  brethren,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  will  come  the 
second  time.  Then  when  the  deep  anguish,  the  soul 
exercise  of  the  Israel  of  the  end  time  has  reached  the 
climax.  He  will  come  and  they  that  pierced  Him  shall 
look  upon  Him.  He  will  forgive  them  their  sins  and 
remember  them  no  more.    Rom.  xi:26-27. 


84  THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 
Jacob  Goes  Down  to  Egypt. 

1.  Israel's  Departure  and  the  Vision.     1-4. 

2.  The  Journey  and  the  Arrival  in  Egypt.     5-7. 

3.  The  Offspring  of  the  Sons  of  Jacob.     8-27. 

4.  Israel  Meets  Joseph.     28-30. 

5.  Joseph's  Directions  Concerning  Pharaoh.     31-34. 

The  whole  family  of  Jacob,  consisting  of  seventy 
souls,  exclusive  of  the  wives  and  the  servants,  came  to 
Egypt.  Once  more  God  appears  to  Israel,  but  addresses 
him  as  Jacob.  He  gives  him  permission  to  go  down  to 
Egypt  and  assures  him  of  His  presence.  They  were 
directed  to  the  land  of  Goshen,  which  was  east  of 
Memphis.  And  what  a  meeting  it  was,  when  Joseph 
fell  around  his  father's  neck  and  kissed  him ! 

"This  emigration  to  Egypt  was,  without  doubt,  directed  by 
the  Lord  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  against  the  dispersiou 
of  the  family,  as  well  as  against  its  admixture  with  strangers, 
during  the  important  period  which  had  arrived,  in  which  it  was 
appointed  to  be  developed  as  a  nation;  neither  of  these  un- 
favorable results,  which  would  have  been  inevitable  in  Canaan, 
could  follow  in  Egypt:  for  Goshen  afforded  ample  room  for 
their  increasing  numbers,  on  the  one  hand,  while,  on  the  other, 
the  aversion  of  the  Egyptians  to  shepherds  (ch.  46:34)  effectu- 
ally prevented  the  formation  of  ties  between  them  by  inter- 
marriage. Besides,  the  opportunity  which  was  furnished  for 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  wisdom  of  Egypt,  and  also  the 
pressure  of  the  future  bondage,  may  have  both  been  designed 
to  serve,  in  the  hands  of  God,  as  means  for  training  and 
cultivating  the  <:hosen  nation.  And  the  transition  from  a  no- 
madic to  an  agricultural  life,  which  was  designed  to  constitute 
the  foundation  of  the  polity  of  Israel  on  acquiring  independence 
and  a  home  in  the  promised  land,  may  also  be  assigned,  in  its 
incipient  stages,  to  this  period."* 


*Kurtz  Sacred  History. 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS.  85 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 
The  Settlement  in  Goshen. 

1.  Before  Pharaoh.     1-10. 

2.  The   Settlement.     11-12. 

3.  Joseph's  Wise  Administration.     13-26. 

4.  Jacob's  Request.     27-31. 

Jacob  and  some  of  his  sons  were  presented  to 
Pharaoh,  who  received  them  graciously,  and  Jacob 
blessed  Pharaoh.  The  great  and  powerful  monarch  of 
the  great  land  Egypt  was  blessed  by  the  poor  old  Jacob. 
He  is  more  than  blessed,  but  a  blesser,  a  type  of  what 
Israel  is  yet  to  be  for  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

There  is  no  discrepancy  in  verse  11,  for  Goshen  is 
also  called  Rameses.  We  likewise  get  a  glimpse  in  this 
chapter  of  the  wonderful  administration  of  Joseph  dur- 
ing the  years  of  famine.  Verse  27  speaks  of  Israel's 
prosperity  in  the  land.  Notice  how  the  names  of  Jacob 
and  Israel  are  used.  He  requested  to  be  buried  in 
Canaan  and  Joseph  promised  to  carry  out  his  wish. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

Jacob  adopts  Ephraim  and  Manasseh. 

1.  The  Sons  of  Joseph  brought  to  Jacob.     1-2. 

2.  The  Words  of  Jacob.     3-7. 

3.  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  presented.     8-14. 

4.  Jacob's  Blessing.     15-16. 

5.  Joseph's  Interference.     17-20. 

6.  Jacob's  last  words  to  Joseph.    21-22. 

The  adoption  of  Joseph's  sons  is  interesting  and  in- 
structive. As  the  offspring  of  the  Gentile  wife  Asenath 
they  were  in  danger  of  becoming  gentilized  and  thus 
forget  their  father's  house.  Jacob  frustrated  this  by 
adopting  the  sons.  It  was  an  action  of  faith.  "By 
faith,  Jacob,  when  he  was  dying,  blessed  both  the  sons 


86  THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 

of  Joseph;  and  worshipped  leaning  on  the  top  of  his 
staff"  (Hebrews  xi:21).  Again  the  younger  is  pre- 
ferred. When  Jacob  speaks  of  "the  Angel,  the  Re- 
deemer" (literal  translation)  he  speaks  of  Jehovah 
who  appeared  unt  ohim,  whom  he  met  face  to  face  at 
Peniel.  Full  of  hope  dying  Jacob  predicted  the  return 
of  his  offspring  to  the  land  of  Canaan. 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 
Jacob's  Prophecy. 

1.  The  Call  of  Jacob.    "Gather  yourselves  together."    1-2. 

2.  The  Prophecy  concerning  his  sons.     3-27. 

Reuben.    3-4. 

Simeon  and  Levi.     5-7. 

Judah.     8-12. 

Zebulun.     13. 

Issachar.     14-15. 

Dan.     16-18. 

Gad.    19. 

Asher.     20. 

Naphtali.     21. 

Joseph  and  Benjamin.     22-27. 

The  last  words  of  Jacob  to  his  sons  are  often  called 
"the  blessings."  What  he  said  is  rather  a  prophecy. 
Concerning  Judah  he  saith  the  most  because  from 
Judah  there  was  to  come  the  Shiloh,  that  is,  the 
Messiah.  Jacob's  prophecy  covers  in  a  remarkable 
way  the  entire  history  of  Israel,  past,  present  and 
future.  We  give  a  few  brief  hints,  which  will  be  help- 
ful in  a  closer  study  of  this  important  chapter.  Seven 
periods  of  Israel's  history  are  given  here. 

I.  Reuben,  Simeon  and  Levi  show  the  character  of 
the  nation  up  to  the  time  of  Christ.  II.  Judah  points 
clearly  to  the  period  of  this  nation  when  our  Lord  was 
on  the  earth.  III.  Zebulun  and  Issachar,  where  the 
sea  and  commerce,  indolence  and  service  are  prominent, 
describes  Israel  scattered  among  the  nations  during 
this  age.    IV.  Dan  shows  Israel  apostate  during  Anti- 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS.  87 

Christ.  (Dan  is  left  out  in  Revel.  VII).  V.  Gad,  Asher 
and  Naphtali  describe  the  godly  remnant  during  the 
great  tribulation.  VI.  Joseph  speaks  of  the  second 
coming  of  Christ;  and  VII.  Benjamin,  the  Son  of  the 
right  Hand,  of  the  righteous  rule  of  the  King. 

CHAPTER  L. 
The  Burial  of  Jacob.   Joseph's  Return  and  Death. 

1.  The  Grief  of  Joseph.    1-3. 

2.  The  Burial.    4-13. 

3.  The  Return  to  Egypt.     14-23. 

4.  The  Death  of  Joseph.     24-26. 

This  great  Book  which  begins  with  the  perfect  and 
good  creation  of  God  ends  with  a  burial  and  the  last 
words  are  "a  coffin  in  Egypt."  What  havoc  sin  has 
wrought.  Jacob  died  147  years  old  and  after  his  body 
was  embalmed  was  carried  to  Canaan.  Read  in  connec- 
tion with  Joseph's  death  Exod.  xiii:19;  Josh.  xxiv:32 
and  Hebrews  xi:22. 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 


Genesis  and  Geology. 

Genesis  is  a  revelation  from  God;  Geology  is  a  discovery  of 
man.  A  revelation  from  God  can  be  augmented  by  God  only; 
a  discovery  by  man  may  be  improved,  matured,  advanced, 
ripened  progressively,  till  the  end  of  the  world.  We  therefore 
assume  that  Genesis  is  perfect  beyond  the  possibility  of  con- 
tradiction or  improvement  by  us;  and  we  equally  assume  that 
Geology,  because  the  discovery  of  man,  and  the  subject  of  the 
investigation  of  man,  may  be  improved  by  greater  experience 
and  more  profound  acquaintance  with  those  phenomena  which 
lie  concealed  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  waiting  for  man  to 
evoke,  explain,  and  arrange  them.  I  am  sure,  therefore,  that 
Genesis,  as  God's  Word,  is  beyond  the  reach  of  the  blow  of  the 
geologist's  hammer;  or  the  detection  of  a  single  flaw  by  micro- 
scope or  telescope;  it  will  stand  the  crucible  of  the  chemist; 
and  the  severer  the  ordeal  to  which  it  is  subjected,  the  more 
pure,  resplendent,  and  beautiful  it  will  emerge,  indicating  its 
origin  to  be  from  above,  and  its  issue  to  be  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  supreme  happiness  of  mankind.  Geology  has  before 
now  retraced  its  steps;  Genesis  never.  Before  now  it  has  been 
discovered,  that  what  were  thought  to  be  facts  incontrovertible 
were  fallacies.  It  is  found  that  phenomena  described  and  dis- 
cussed as  true,  were  mistakes  and  misapprehensions,  which 
maturer  investigations  have  disposed  of;  and  therefore  I  am 
not  speaking  dogmatically  and  without  reason,  when  I  say,  that 
while  Genesis  must  be  true.  Geology — having  already  erred,  may 
err  again,  and  some  of  its  very  loudest  assertions,  made  rashly 
by  those  who  have  least  acquaintance  with  its  data — may  yet 
be  proved  to  be  wrong.  But  certain  facts  in  it  are  now  beyond 
all  dispute.  Let  Geology  and  Genesis  be  alleged  to  clash,  and 
the  discovery  from  the  depths  of  the  earth  contradict  the  text 
from  the  page  of  the  Bible;  in  such  a  case,  I  would  submit  first 
these  questions:  Are  you  sure  that  there  is  a  real  contradic- 
tion between  the  fact  of  Geology  and  the  text  of  the  Bible, 
or  is  it  only  a  contradiction  between  the  fact  discovered  by 
science,  and  the  interpretation  that  you  put  upon  the  text  of  the 
Bible  ?  In  the  next  place,  if  there  be  in  any  instance  contradic- 
tion between  a  clear  text  of  the  Bible  and  a  supposed  fact  or 
discovery  made  by  the  geologist,  my  inference,  and  without 
hesitation,  is,  that  the  geologist  must  have  made  a  mistake, 
that  Moses  has  made  none:  and  therefore  the  advice  we  give  to 
the  geologist  is,  not  to  say,  God's  work  beneath  contradicts 
God's  Word  without,  but  just  to  go  back  again,  read  more  care- 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS.  89 

fully  the  stony  page,  excavate  more  laboriously  in  the  subter- 
ranean chambers  of  the  earth,  and  a  maturer  acquaintance 
with  the  facts  of  science  may  yet  elicit  the  desirable  result, 
that  there  is  harmony  where  we  thought  discord,  and  perfect 
agreement  where  to  us  there  seemed  only  discrepancy  and  con- 
flict. We  have  instances  of  the  possibility  of  some  deductions 
of  science  being  wrong  in  other  departments  of  it.  Astronomy 
was  once  quoted  as  contradicting  the  express  declarations  of 
the  Word  of  God;  maturer  acquaintance  with  it  has  proved  its 
perfect  coincidence.  Again,  the  hieroglyphics  on  the  banks  of 
the  Nile,  as  deciphered  by  Young  and  Champollion,  were  in- 
stanced to  prove  a  far  greater  age  of  the  human  race  than  that 
declared  in  the  Bible;  but  subsequent  investigation  showed  that 
the  hieroglyphics  were  wrongly  interpreted,  not  that  God's 
Word  was  untrue.  The  traditions  of  the  Chinese  were  viewed 
as  upsetting  the  records  of  the  Mosaic  history,  but  subsequent 
investigation  have  proved  that  those  were  wrong,  and  that  God's 
Word  is  true. 

The  Bible,  whether  we  take  it  in  Genesis  or  in  the  Gospels, 
contains  no  error;  it  has  not  a  single  scientific  error  in  it.  Yet 
it  was  not  designed  to  teach  science;  but  wherever  it  touches 
the  province  of  science,  it  touches  so  delicately  that  we  can  see 
the  main  object  is  to  teach  men  how  to  be  saved,  while  its  slight 
intimations  of  scientific  principles  or  natural  phenomena  have 
in  every  instance  been  demonstrated  to  be  exactly  and  strictly 
true.  If  the  Bible  said  in  any  part  of  it,  as  the  ancient 
philosopher  alleged,  that  there  were  two  suns,  one  for  the  upper 
hemisphere,  and  the  other  for  the  lower,  then  science  would 
prove  that  Scripture  was  wrong;  or  if  the  Scripture  said,  as 
the  Hindoos  believe,  that  the  earth  is  a  vast  plain,  with  con- 
centric seas  of  milk,  honey,  and  sugar,  supported  by  an  elephant, 
and  that  the  earthquakes  and  convulsions  of  the  globe  are  the 
movements  of  that  elephant  as  he  bears  it  on  his  back, — then 
science  would  have  proved  that  to  be  absurd;  and  if  Scripture 
had  asserted  it,  such  assertion  would  be  demonstrably  untrue. 
But  the  striking  fact  is  that  you  find  no  such  assertion,  nor 
anything  approaching  such  assertions  in  the  Bible.  How  comes 
it  to  pass,  then,  that  Moses  has  spoken  so  purely  and  truly 
on  science  where  he  does  speak,  and  has  been  silent  where  there 
was  such  a  provocative  to  speak — his  very  silence  being  as  sig- 
nificant as  his  utterance?  How  happens  it  that  Moses,  with 
no  greater  education  than  the  Hindoo,  or  the  ancient  philosopher, 
has  written  his  book,  touching  science  at  a  thousand  points  so 
accurately,  that  scientific  research  has  discovered  no  flaws  in 
it;  and  has  spoken  on  subjects  the  most  delicate,  the  most  diffi- 


■90  THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 

cult,  the  most  involved;  and  yet  in  those  investigations  which 
have  taken  place  in  more  recent  centuries,  it  has  not  been 
shown  that  he  has  committed  one  single  error,  or  made  one 
solitary  assertion  which  can  be  proved  by  maturest  science  or 
the  most  eagle-eyed  philosopher  to  be  incorrect  scientifically 
or  historically.  The  answer  is,  that  Moses  wrote  by  the  inspira- 
tion of  God,  and  therefore  what  he  writes  are  the  words  of 
faithfulness  and  of  truth. — Cumings. 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS.  91 

Dictionary  of  the  Proper  Names  of  Genesis 
with  their  Meaning. 


Abel — Vanity,  Vapor. 

Abel-mizraim — Mourning  of  Egypt. 

Abidah — Father  of  Knowledge. 

Abimael — My  Father  from  God. 

Abimelech — My  Father  is  King. 

Abraham — Father  of  many. 

Abram — Father  exalted. 

Accad — Band;  City  of  Nisibis. 

Achbar — Mouse;   swift. 

Adah — Adorned. 

Adam — Man  (red). 

Adheel — Sorrow  from  God. 

Admah — Red  earth. 

Adullamite — From  Adullam;  Restingplace. 

Aholibamah — Tent  of  the  high  place. 

Ahuzzath — Possession. 

Ajah — A  young  hawk. 

Akan — Wresting. 

Allon-bachuth — Oak  of  Weeping. 

Almodad — Beyond  measure. 

Alvah — Wickedness. 

Alvan — Unrighteous. 

Amalek — A  nation  that  licks  up. 

Amorite — Mountain  dweller. 

Amraphel — Uttering  dark  sentences. 

Anah — An  answer. 

Anamin— Gushing  of  the  waters. 

Aner — Exile;  sprout. 

Aram — Exalted. 

Aran— Wild  Goat. 

Ararat— High  or  holy  ground. 

Arbah — Four. 

Ard-  ( Uncertain)  —Fugitive. 

Areli — Lion  of  God. 

Arioch — Strong  Lion. 

Arkite— One  who  gnaws. 

Arodi— Roaming,  untamed. 

Arphaxad — Laying  on  or  at  the  side. 

Irvadite— Break  loose,  wanderer. 


92  THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 

Asenath — Devoted  to  the  goddess  Neith. 

Ashbel — Fire  of  Bel;  or,  Correction  of  God. 

Asher — Happy. 

Ashkenay — Scattered  Fire. 

Ashteroth-Karnaim — Double      Horned     Astarte.        (Phoenician 

Venus). 
Asshur — Step. 
Asshurim — Steps. 
Atad — Bramble. 
Avith — Ruins. 

B 

Baal-hanan— Baal  is  merciful. 

Babel — Confusion. 

Bashemath — Pleasant  smell. 

Becher — First  born. 

Bedad — Solitary,  separate. 

Beeri— My  Well 

Beer-lahai-roi— Well  of  the  Living  and  Seeing. 

Beersheba— Well  of  the  Oath. 

Bela — Devouring. 

Benammi — Son  of  my  people. 

Benjamin — Son  of  the  right  hand. 

Ben-oni — Son  of  my  Sorrow. 

Beor — Torch,  Burning. 

Bera — Excelling  in  Evil. 

Beriah — Unfortunate. 

Bethel— House  of  God. 

Bethlehem — House  of  Bread. 

Bethuel — Separated  of  God. 

Bilhah— Timid. 

Bilhan— Their  Fear. 

Birsha — Son  of  Wickedness. 

Bozrah — Sheep  fold. 

Buz — Contempt. 

C 
Cain — Acquisition.     Acquired  of  Jehovah. 
Cainan — Deplorable. 
Calah — Completion,  old  age. 
Calneh — Complete  wailing.      (Cal-neh.) 
Canaan — Merchant.     Trafficker. 
Caphtorim — Crowns. 
Carmi — My  vineyard. 
Casluhim — Barren  Mountains. 
Chedorlaomer — Handful  of  Sheaves. 
Cheran — Their  Lamb;  Joyous  shouts. 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS.  93 


Chesed — Meaning  is  unknown. 
Chezib — Lying. 
Cush— Black. 

D 
Damascus — City  of  Activities. 
Dan — Judging. 

Deborah — Bee,  or  Her  Words. 
Dedan — Their  leading  forward. 
Diklah — Palm  tree. 
Dinah — Vindicated;  Judgment. 
Dinhabah — She  gives  Judgment. 
Dishan — Their  threshing;  a  Gazelle. 
Dishon — A  thresher. 
Dodanim — Leader,  or  Loves. 
Dothan — Decrees. 
Dumah — Silence. 

E 
Ebal — Heaps  of  barrenness. 
Eber — He  that  passes  over,  a  passenger. 
Edar— A  flock. 

Eden — Delight;  according  to  others,  a  plain. 
Edom— Red. 
Ehi— My  Brother. 
Elah — Strength,  an  oak. 
Elam — Forever,  eternal. 
El-bethel— God,  God's  House. 
Eldaah — God's  Knowledge. 
El-elohe-Israel — God,  the  God  of  Israel. 
Eliezer — My  God  is  Help. 
Eliphaz — My  God  is  fine  Gold. 
Elishah — My  God  is  Salvation. 
Ellasar — Of  uncertain  meaning. 
Elon— Mighty;  Oak. 

El-paran — The  might  of  their  adorning. 
Emims — Terrors. 

En-misphat — Fountain   of  Judgment. 
Enoch — Dedicated;  Teaching. 
Enos — Frail,  mortal  man. 
Ephah — Darkness. 
Epher — A  young  hart. 

Ephraim — Great  fruitfulness,  doubly  fruitfuL 
Ephron — A  fawn;  of  dust. 
Ephrath— Fruitful. 

Er — Watcher.     Stirring  up,  or.  Enmity. 
Eri — My  Watching.     My  Enmity. 


94  THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 

Erech — Length. 

Esau — Hairy. 

Eschol — A  cluster. 

Eshban — Very  red. 

Ethiopia — Black. 

Euphrates — Fruitfulness,  sweet  water. 

Eve — Life;   Life  giver. 

Ezbon — Uncertain  meaning;  perhaps,  Hastening  of  the  Son». 

Ezer — Help. 

G 
Gad — Good  Fortune  is  come;  invading. 
Gaham — Flame,  Burning. 
Galeed — Heap  of  witness. 
Gatam — Coming  in  touch. 
Gaza — Fortified. 
Gera — Rumination. 
Gerar — Sojourning. 
Gershon — Outcast,  stranger. 
Gether — Turning  aside,  a  spy. 
Gihon — Breaking  forth. 
Giiead — Rocky,  Heap  of  witness. 
Girgasites — Dwellers  in  swamps. 
Gomer — Completion. 
Gomorrah — Heap  or  bundled  together. 
Goshen — Meaning  obscure. 
Guni — Protected. 

H 

Hadar — Honor,  ornament. 

Hadad — Sharp,  noisy. 

Hadoram — Exalted  people. 

Hagar — Flight,  sojourner. 

Haggi — My  feast. 

Hal — Ruins. 

Ham — Hot,   Black,  Sunburnt. 

Hamathite — Defender,  Fortress. 

Hamor — An  ass. 

Hamul — One  who  has  been  pitied. 

Hanoch — Dedicated. 

Haran — Their  Mountain.     Parched. 

Havilah — Trembling  in  pain   (childbirth). 

Hazarmaveth — Court  of  Death. 

Hazezon-Tamar — Pruning  of  the  Palm. 

Haze — Vision. 

Heber — A  company;  also,  passing  through.- 

Hebron — Fellowship. 


THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS.  95 


Hemam — Destruction,  Crushed. 

Hemdan — Delight. 

Heth — Dread,  Fear. 

Hezron — Walled  in;  division  of  song, 

Hiddekel — The  swift;  Tigris. 

Hirah — Nobility. 

^Aitiite — Same  as  Heth. 

Hivite — Together,  villagers;   winding. 

Hobah — Hiding  place. 

Hori  )  ^      „ 

Horites     \  Dwellers  in  caves. 

Hul — Writhing  in  pain. 
Huppim — Coverings. 
Husham — Haste. 
Hushim — Hasters. 
Huz — Counsellor. 

I 

Irad— City  of  Witness. 

Iram — Belonging  to  their  City. 

Isaac — Laughter. 

Iscah — Gaze  upon,  or  she  will  see. 

Ishbak — He  will  remain. 

Ishuah — He  will  be  equal. 

Ishmael  )   ^    ,      .,,  , 

Ishmaelites      \  ^'"^  ^^^^^  ^^^^- 

Israel — Prince  with  God. 

Issachar — Bringing  Wages;  He  will  be  hired. 

Isui — He  will  level. 

Jaalam — He  will  hide. 

Jabal — A  River. 

Jabbok — He  will  pour  out. 

Jachin — He   will   establish. 

Jacob — The  supplanter. 

Jahleel — Hope  of  God. 

Jahzeel — Alloted  of  God. 

Jamin — Right  Hand. 

Japheth — Expansion. 

Jared — Descent. 

Javan — Clay.    (Greece). 

Jebusite — Treader  down. 

Jegarsahadutha — Heap  of  Witness, 

Jehovah-Jireh— The  Lord  will  see. 

Jemuel — Day  of  God. 


96  THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 

Jerah — Moon. 

Jetheth — Strengthener;  a  nail. 

Jetur — Encircle,  Defence. 

Jeush — Gathering  together. 

Jezer — Form,  Pui'pose. 

Jidlaph — He  will  weep. 

Jimnah — Right  Handed,  Prosperity. 

Job — One  who  returns. 

Jobab — Crying  aloud. 

Jokshan — Ensnaring. 

Joktan — He  will  be  small. 

Jordan — Descending. 

Joseph — Let  him  add. 

Jubal — Musician. 

Judah — Praise. 

Judith — Jewish;  Praising.    (In  Phoenician  form). 

K 

Kadesh— Set  apart;  Devoted  to  licentious  idolatry. 

Kadmonites — Ancients. 

Kedar — Dark  skinned. 

Kedemah — Eastward. 

Kemuel — Congregation  of  God. 

Kenaz — Hunter. 

Kenites — Acquiring. 

Kenizzites — Hunter. 

Keturah — Incense,  Fragrance. 

Kirjath-arba— City  of  Four. 

Kittim — Subduers. 

Kohath— Congregation;  Waiting. 

Korah — Ice. 

L 

Laban — White. 

Lahai-roi — The  living  and  seeing  one. 

Lamech — Powerful. 

Leah — Weary. 

Lehabim — Flames. 

Letushim — Hammered  ones. 

Leummim — Nations. 

Levi — Joined. 

Lot — Covering. 

Lotan — Covering  up. 

^"j.      I  of  uncertain  meaning;  perhaps,  to  shine. 

Ludim  ) 

Luz — Perverting. 


THE  BOOK   OF  GENESIS.  97 

M 
Maachah — Oppression. 
Machir — Seller. 

Machpelah — Double,  Folded  together, 
Madai — My  extension. 

Magdiel — Preciousness  of  God.    Others:  Mighty  Tower. 
Magog — Expansion,  overtowering. 
Mahalaleel— Praise  of  God.     The  Blessed  God. 
Mahalath — String  Instrument;  Harp;  also,  to  be  Weak. 
Mahanaim — Two  hosts  or  camps. 
Malchiel — My  King  is  God. 
Mamre — Fatness,  Strength. 
Manahath — Gift;  Resting  place. 
Manasseh — Forgetfulness. 
Marah — Bitterness. 
Masrekah — Vineyard. 

Massa — Bearing  patiently;  a  burden;  an  utterance. 
Matred — Thrusting  forward. 
Medan— Strife. 
Mehetahel— Benefited  of  God. 

Mehujael^Destroyed  of  God;  or,  blot  out  that  Jah  is  God. 
Merari — My  bitterness. 
Mesha — Deliverance  brought. 
Meshech — Drawing  out. 
Mesopotamia — Exalted. 
Methusael — Dying  who  are  of  God. 
Methuselah — Death  sent  away. 
Mezahab — Waters  of  Gold. 
Mibsam — Sweet  Smell. 
Mibzar — Defence. 

mdianites    [  Contention,  Strife. 

Milcah — Queen. 

Mishma — Hearing. 

Mizpah — Watch-tower. 

Mizraim — Egypt;   double  distresses. 

Mizzah — From  sprinkling. 

Moab — From  Father;  Water  of  Father. 

Muppirm — ^Anxieties;  shakings. 

N 

Naamah — Pleasantness. 
Naaman — The  same  as  Naamah. 
Nahath— Rest. 
Nahor — Snorter. 


98  THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 

Naphish — Refreshment. 
Naphtali — My  Wrestling. 
Naphtuhim — Openings. 
Nebajoth — Exalted  places. 
Nimrod — Rebel. 
Nineveh — House  of  Ninus. 
Noah — Comfort. 

O 
Obal — Stripped  of  leaves. 
Ohad — To  be  wild;  Joined  together. 
Omar — Eloquent. 
On — Light;  Sun  (Egyptian). 
Onam — Vanity,  Iniquity. 
Onan — Iniquity. 
Ophir — Abundance. 

P 

Padan-aram — Plain  of  Aram.    Mesopotamia. 

Paran — Abundance  of  foliage. 

Pathrusim — Southern  countries. 

Pau — Crying  out. 

Peleg — Division. 

Peniel — Face  of  God. 

Perrizites — Country  folks. 

Phallu — Distinguished. 

Pharaoh— The  King;  a  title. 

Pharez — Breach. 

Phichol— Mouth  of  All. 

Philistines — Land  of  wanderers. 

Phut — Extension. 

Phuvah — Mouth. 

Pildash— Flame  of  Fire. 

Pinon — Distraction. 

Pison — Great  Increase. 

Potiphar — Egyptian:    Devoted  to  Ra. 

Poti-phera — The  same  meaning. 
R 

Raamah — Roaring,  Thunder. 

Rachel — An  ewe. 

Rameses— Son  of  the  Sun. 

Rebekah — Tying;  Rope. 

Rehoboth — Streets. 

Rephaims — Giants. 

Resen — Bridle. 

Reu — Friend,  associate. 

Reuben — Behold  a  Son. 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS  99 

Reuel — Friend  of  God. 
Reumah — Exalted. 
Riphath — Crushing. 
Rosh— Chief,  Head. 

S 
Sabtah — Breaking  through. 
Salah— Sent  forth. 
Salem — Peace. 

Samlah — Covering,  Enwrapping. 
Sarah — A  Princess. 
Sarai — My  Princess. 
Saul — Asked  for. 
Seba — Drink  thou;  Drunkard. 

Seir — Rough,  hairy.  / 

Sephar — Numbering,  Census. 
Serah — A  Princess;  same  as  Sarah. 
Sered — Fear,  trembling. 
Serug — A  Branch. 
Seth — Set,  appointed. 
Shalem — Peace. 
Shamah — Hearing. 
Shaul— Asked  for.    (Saul). 
Shaveh-Kiriathain — Plain  of  Cities. 
Sheba— To  the  oath. 
Shebah — The  same. 
Shechem — Shoulder. 
Shelah— Sent  forth;  Sprout. 
Sheleph — Drawn  out. 
Shem — Name. 

Shemeher — Name  of  Wing. 
Shepo — Prominent. 
Shillem — Retribution. 
Shimron — A  Keeper. 
Shinab— Tooth  of  Father. 
Shinar — Dispersing. 
Shobab — Backsliding. 

Shuah — Sink  down,  depression.     Also:  Riches. 
Shuni — Quiet;  My  rest. 
Shur — A  wall. 
Sichem — Shoulder. 
Siddim — Plains;  Name  of  a  Valley. 
Sidon — Fishing. 
Simeon — Hearing  in  obedience. 
Sinite — Clay. 
Sitnah — Accusation,  enmity. 


100  THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 

Sodom — Scorching,  Burning;   Arabic:  Locked  up. 

Succoth — Booths. 

Syria — Lifted  up;  Sublime. 

T 

Tamar — A  Palm  tree. 

Tarshish — Subjection,  Scattering. 

Tebah — Slaughtering. 

Tema — Desert,  Southern  region. 

Teman — The  same. 

Terah— Delay. 

Thahash — Badger,  seal. 

Tidal— Fear,  Reverence. 

Timna — Restraint. 

Tiranah — The  same. 

Timnath — A  portion. 

Tiras — Desire. 

Togarmah — Breaking  bones. 

Tola — Little  Worm.     (Cocus-cacti:  from  which  comes  the  scarlet 

color). 
Tubal — Flowing  forth. 
Tubal-cain — Coming  forth  of  Cain. 

U 

Ur— Light. 

Uz — Counsel. 

Uzal — Flooded,  going  to  and  fro. 

Z 

Zaavan — Great  unrest. 

Zaphnath-paaneah — Revealer  of   Secrets. 

Zarah — Sun  rising. 

Zeboim — Troops. 

Zeboiim — The  same. 

Zebulun — Habitation. 

Zemarites — Double  cuttings  off. 

Zepho — Watchfulness. 

Zerah — Rising  of  light. 

Zibeon — Of  many  colors. 

Zilpah — Dropping. 

Zillah— Shadow. 

Zimran — Their  song. 

Ziphim — Smelters. 

Zohar — Whiteness,  light. 

Zuzims — Murmuring,  commotions. 


THE    BOOK    OF    GENESIS. 


101 


Chronological  Arrangement  of  Some  Leading  Persons 
and  Events  in  Genesis. 


B.C. 

The  Creation  of  Adam 4004 

The  Birth  of  Seth 3874 

Enos  born 3769 

Cainan   born 3679 

Mahaleel    born 3609 

Jared    born _ 3544 

Enoch  born. „ 3382 

Methuselah  born 3317 

Lamech    born 3130 

Adam's     death 3074 

Enoch's    translation 3017 

Noah's  birth „ 2948 

The  Flood _ 2348 

Peleg    born 2247 

Naber  bom 2155 

Terah's    birth _ 2126 

Noah's    death 1998 

Abraham's    birth 1996 

Abraham's  Call  in  Ur 1945 

Terah's  death 1921 

Second  Call  to  Abraham 1921 

Abraham  in  Egypt. 1920 

His  Return - 1912 


B.C. 

Abraham  takes  Hagar 1911 

The  birth  of  Ishmael 1910 

The  Covenant  sign  given...  1897 

Birth  of  Isaac 1896 

Sarah's  death 1859 

Isaac's   marriage 1856 

Jacob    born — 1836 

Abraham's     death 1821 

Marriage  of  Esau 1796 

Death  of  Ishmael 1773 

Jacob's   flight 1759 

Mis  Marriages 1752 

Jacob's   flight 1739 

Meets  his  brother 1738 

Jacob  at  Bethel 1731 

Death  of  Rachel 1728 

Joseph  sold 1727 

Joseph  in  Egypt 1717 

Death   of  Isaac 1716 

Joseph  interprets  dreams...  1715 

Egyptian   famine - 1707-01 

Jacob's   death 1689 

Joseph's  death 1635 


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The  Book  of  Genesis :  a  complete 

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